What If: Myth
by Prinder
Summary: In the times of Kings, Queens, Mighty Lords, and Fairy beings there stands a great evil that the G-boys of the midevil times must face... and win, or die trying. HYxRP *FINISHED!*
1. A tale of the souls

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What if: Myth 

By Prinder 

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations and suggestive dialog.

Summery: a 'what if' story. What if the gundam pilots were living in a fantasy world, with myth, magic, mystery and monsters. This is what I think their lives would be like.

Notes: this is a non-yaoi, AU, action/romance story, Possible OOC.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Keys:

"…" Indicates talking

'…' Indicates thinking

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 1: A tale of the souls. 

He was sitting on the back of the bandwagon. Nothing strange about that, he always sits there, he was even sitting the same way he always does, one leg tucked under him and the other dangling haphazardly off the edge with his eyes closed and his flute pressed to his lips, playing a cheery tune.

"Trowa! Be careful, you might fall" his adoptive sister cried. She was always worried about him.

Trowa paused in his playing and looked at her. "I will, don't worry sis" he said reassuringly.

It was always like that. He would sit at the back of one of the bandwagons playing his flute and she would promptly warn him to be careful. It was the same every time the circus moved on from one kingdom to the next. It was funny how they seemed to look so much alike but weren't at all related, at least that was what they told the others, but no matter what they would always be family to each other. Just like everyone else in the troop.

Catherine looked up from her seat in the front of the bandwagon behind Trowa's and watched the sunset behind the mountains to the east. She turned to look to the west to see the glistening ocean splashing waves upon the shoreline. She sighed contently at the sights and sounds around her, slowly drifting off to sleep. 

*****

He was pacing the halls, he always does, its just like his father to leave him in the dark when everyone knew that he was deathly ill, Quatre could almost hate his father for that, almost, if it weren't for his good nature he would be mad, but it still wouldn't help things, his father was dying and there was nothing he could to about it! Quatre sighed, he had to calm down, and getting upset wouldn't do anyone a wit of good right now! He forced himself to sit down in a chair and leaned back to close his eyes. He was tired, he had been up most of the night waiting to see if the mages could do anything for his father.

One of the mages walked out of his father's bed cambers. Quatre jumped to his feet and ran over.

"How is he? Is he all right? Will he make it? What's going on in there?" Quatre questioned rapidly.

The mage looked at Quatre with pity in his eyes, Quatre hated it when people did that, like they didn't want to be the ones to break the bad news to you. Quatre sighed; he knew very well what the mage was going to say and merely nodded before the mage could even speak.

"May I see him?" Quatre asked calmly.

The mage nodded and stepped aside to let the boy into his father's room for one last goodbye.

Quatre walked into the bed chambers asked the other mages to leave for a moment, they all complied wholeheartedly and soon Quatre was alone with his now dead father.

"Why now father? Why did you have to leave us?" Quatre asked the body, choking back tears that were threatening to fall.

Nothing. There was nothing but still air for a reply.

"I'm sorry I was never a very obedient son father, I know it won't help but I am really and truly very sorry" that did it. The dam broke and Quatre buried his face in his hands as he fell to his knees and cried at the foot of his father's bed.

Slowly the door opened an hour later and Quatre stepped out with his head bowed as he walked quietly to his chambers and crawled into bed only to cry himself to sleep.

The news spread quickly, mages were always big blabber mouths when it came to such things, and by morning light even people in neighboring kingdoms knew of what had happened that night, and they also knew that there was already a new king on the throne, the new king didn't know this until the next day, but now was the time of the reign of king Quatre!

*****

She was playing the harp, a trivial task, but it was still something to do.

"Your highness! Your highness!" one of her mother's maidens-in-waiting called as she ran into the throne room.

"Yes? Did you call me?" she stopped playing, rolled the impossibly large harp out of the way, stood up and walked over to her.

"Yes your highness, your mother wishes to see you at once!" the maiden replied.  


"Why didn't you say so in the first place? Where is she?" she asked.

"This way your highness" and with that they both made there way to the library so see her mother reading calmly by the window.

"Mother, you wished to see me?"

The queen looked up and smiled at her daughter and motioned her forward.

"Yes my dear, please have a seat," the queen said cheerfully.

The princess did as she was asked and then looked at her mother.

"Mother, what has happened?" she asked.

"Nothing has happened my dear, I merely wished to see you my love" the queen replied.

'Something was very wrong here' thought the princess. 'She never calls me that, she still is yet to say my name' she frowned and stood up "Mother, please, tell me, what is going on here?"

"King Winner has passed away, his son needs a queen, his royal adviser sent me the message requesting that you meet with Prince Quatre" her mother replied.

"I understand… when am I to leave?" she asked sadly. This was not how she wanted to be married, but that's what it's like to be royalty.

"Today. Jasmine, please don't cry my little one. They say that prince Quatre is a kind young man. And it is only to meet him, not to marry him. He wants to get to know you before he decides to honor his fathers last request" Jasmine's mother said as she hugged her gently and wiped away her tears.

"Thank you mother, I feel better now," Jasmine said as she put on a brave smile and walked out the door.

"Take care my dear," her mother said softly when she left.

*****

They were drinking tea in the dinning room when one of the soldiers came running in waving a note above his head franticly.

"Your majesty!" he dropped to his knees in a long sweeping bow.

They looked up at the soldier and Queen Lucrezia stood up and walked over to the soldier to retrieve the note.

"What's this?" she asked as she read it.

"K-King T-t-traize se-sent it yo-your majesty!" the soldier stuttered.

King Milliardo took the note from his wife's hand and read it for himself. "I see…hum…"

"What did he say when he gave it to you?" Queen Lucrezia asked.

"He said that he found something that might interest you. Your majesty I swear I don't know what he was talking about!" the soldier said as he bowed again.

"But I do… " King Milliardo said as he wrote down something on a new sheet of parchment and handed it back to the soldier "take this to Traize, tell him to sand it here, I would like to see it for myself"

"Y-yes your majesty!" and with that the soldier stood up, took the note and left.

"Milliardo? Do you really think he found the…"

"Yes Lucrezia I do… my only hope is that it can save my sister…"

*****

It was dark, very dark, he noted. They were trapped in a cage of sorts that much he could tell…

'Damn it! Why can't they just leave us alone?' he thought as a body next to him stirred from its sleep.

"Heero?" a voice chirped out as the body it belonged to sat up and let its eyes adjust to the light, or their lack of.

"I'm here, where here is, I don't know, but I'm going to find out" he replied.

She noticed the cage and started to panic. She pulled on the iron bars, kicked at the steel top and pounded at the floor. Nothing. This cage wasn't about to open anytime soon.

"Are you done yet?" he asked. 

"I can't help it! I hate small dark places!" she replied.

"I know, if it helps, I tried the same thing you did," he said.

"Pwa? It doesn't but thanks anyways" she replied.

"Other then being claustrophobic, are you all right Felina?" he asked.

"Yeah… I think so"

A tall dark figure walked up to the cage and opened the door.

"Step out please" he said.

They hesitated.

"I'm not going to harm you," he said calmly.

They slowly walked out of the cage and stood before him with their arms crossed in front of their chests.

"I trust that you want an explanation?" he asked.

"That would be a good place to start" Heero said glaring daggers at the man.

"You aren't like most humans aren't you," the man stated. "You are both extremely gifted, and that's why we brought you here, there is someone in need of your help" he added.  


"And who might that be?" Heero asked.

"And what do we get out of it?" Felina questioned.

"She is Princess Relena… and she has taken ill by some sort of curse that a warlock cast upon her while she was out riding in the woods… her brother has offered her hand in marriage to whom ever saves her"

"Pwa! And you want us to do it for you so that you can marry her?" Felina said with disgust.

"No… I am doing this as a favor to her brother…I already have a queen"

"What makes you so sure that we can accomplish this?" Heero asked.

"Because you can," the man replied as he turned and started walking up some steps before turning to face them. "I only need one of you… then you are welcome to leave afterward…please follow me" with that he continued to climb the steps.

"I'm not staying here… I'll meet you in the forest Heero" Felina said as she ran off into the darkness of the forests behind them.

"Hn…" was all Heero said in reply as he followed the man.

'I'll just heal her and leave' he thought as he entered the princesses' bedchambers.

There she was laying on the bed, drenched in sweat from head to toe, her eyes clenched shut as her muscles in her hands flexed, fighting some invisible foe. Just for a moment Heero imagined what she would look like without the paleness in her face and her eyes not scrunched up in pain.

'Stop it stop it stop it! You have a mission to complete!' Heero scolded himself mentally as he walked over to her bed.

"…Heeerrreerooooo…" she moaned softly.

'Not possible! She doesn't know who I am! She must be calling someone else. Yeah that's it. It has to be' he told himself, but just to be on the safe side he snuffed out the candles in her room, leaving it in total darkness with exception for the moon light streaming in through the window.

'Lets just get this over with' he told himself as he put his hand in her forehead and a strange golden glow emerged from his fingertips, he groaned in pain. Soon after it was done he passed out, his head landing on her chest, using it as a pillow. 

*****

She opened her eyes slowly and looked around her room, the sun was shining in through her window… it was early morning. She tried to sit up but a strange weight was holding her down, she looked down and tried not to scream when she saw a boy asleep on her chest. 

"Wh-what is he doing here?" she said out loud to herself.

Heero mumbled and groaned slightly as he regained consciousness 'what? Now where am I? It must have taken a lot more out of me then I thought it would… what was that!' he opened his eyes to the feeling to something moving beneath him and he shot up and backed at least ten feet away from the bed.

"Who are you? Are you okay?" the once dying girl said as she looked at him with her clear blue eyes.

"…" Heero took another step back and hit her dressing table, tripped and fell to the ground in a spray of shattering glass, scented oils, powders and various other objects.

Relena gasped as she jumped out of bed and slowly walked over to him, afraid that anymore-sudden movement would frighten him.

"Are you all right?" she said softly as she reached out to touch him to see if he was okay.

Heero saw her hand coming and knocked it away as he scrambled over to a corner holding a knife in his hands.

She looked at him carefully, unsure of what to do.

'He acts as if he were a wild animal'

She looked at his clothes carefully. He was wearing what looked to be a dear hide shirt and pants, his boots looked to be made of a stronger form of leather with matching laces, his hair looked like it hadn't been touched in months, maybe even years! His dagger itself looked to be rather crude on its own and well stained with blood. From what she could tell he LOOKED like he was an animal in most respects.

He felt a shiver run up his spine as she looked at him, she wasn't glaring like he was a piece of filth, nor a monster like most people did when they got a good look at him. She was just looking, her innocent eyes piercing him. It was unnerving.

"What's your name?" she asked again.

"… … … Hee- Hee-Heero" he stammered out, suddenly finding his mouth dry and his voice raspy.

'When did that happen?' he asked himself.

She smiled. She smiled at HIM! Heero pressed against the wall behind him even harder.

'I know that name… but how could I? I must be imagining things' she thought.

"Pleased to meet you Heero" she said.

Heero made a brake for the door kicked it open and ran as fast as he could out of the castle and into the forest.

She stared at the doorway, blinking her eyes in confusion.

"My name is Relena…"

*****

He pulled open the paper screen doors and walked into his study at 9:54 am on the dot, just like the day before and the day before that. He was hiding there, not that he would ever admit it if you asked him. He was stubborn in that way. He chose a book randomly off of shelves and sat down to read.

"Master Wufei?" she called softly, just like she did the day before and the day before that. It would have been a game if they let it. They were both stubborn in that way, unwilling to admit to the real truth of the matter. She would claim that she only thought of him as a brother. He would say that she was a constant nuisance.

"Hum?" he said as he looked up from his book.

"Master Wufei, am I correct to assume that you have not only read that book before, but are now trying to read it up side down?" she asked in wry amusement.

Wufei looked back at his book, she was right, he was reading it up side down. He wasn't really reading it, he only took it off the shelf just so that they would think that he was and leave him alone. She never disobeyed orders, she never did anything wrong, she only went about her business, only pointing out someone's errors in that voice that reeked of self pride.

He always looked at her with such distaste, like he had just bitten into a lemon, that sour look could almost make her want to laugh at him, if it weren't for her sense of integrity she would have gladly made a fool of him in front of his peers. No, she wouldn't to that. As much as she hated to admit it, she cared for the young master.

"Do you want to know a secret?" he asked as he set his book on his lap.

"If you think that I am trust worthy of keeping it," she replied with a bow.

'Strange that she acts so humble yet she is actually far from being it' Wufei thought.

"You are the only person since I lost my Meiran that dares to question me" he said slowly with a piercing glare.

"Thank you master Wufei, you honor me, you so rarely compare others to your beloved wife, I knew Meiran long before I met you, when she came home one day and told me about this irritating scholar boy who let others push him around when she knew perfectly well that he was stronger then all of them! I told her that there were those that fought differently then others; she told me that this boy didn't fight at all! That he was a coward. That was the first time I have ever known her to make a mistake. The second time was when she died," she said ignoring his glare, bowing once again and turning to leave the room.

"Wait" Wufei ordered and she stopped and turned to look at him.

"Yes master Wufei?"

"You were her friend weren't you?"

"Yes master Wufei, you could say that we were that close"

"Then why weren't you present at our wedding?"

"I was there master Wufei, I simply chose not to make my attendance known, she knew that I was there, and that was all that mattered"

"Thank you"

"You are quiet welcome master Wufei, now I will leave you to your thoughts" she said as she bowed again and left the room.

"Thank you Wong" he said as he turned his book right side up, and for once, actually read it instead of glaring at its pages.

*****

There was a great commotion in the streets, there always were these days, and one boy was responsible for it.

"Catch me if you can fatsos! You're way too slow!" he yelled and he jumped over some crates and knocked over a couple of barrels of who-knows-what to trip up the guards.

"After him!" "Stop him!" "Don't let him get away!" "Filthy street urchin!" and various other things were yelled between the guards as they tried in vain to catch him.

He was a skinny kid, he looked at if he wasn't very well fed, which was true, he wasn't. Like most other orphaned children, he didn't have any choice in the matter, it was kill or be killed out on the streets and you either starve to death or you learn real quick how to survive on your own.

"Ha ha! Losers! Ya can't catch me!" he yelled over his shoulder as he ducked into a dark ally way and behind a pile of trash.

The guards ran down the ally way continued to search the whole kingdom for the annoying little street rat, apparently they had nothing better to do with their time then to hunt down some poor starving kid. Duo let out a sigh as he crawled out of his hiding place and dusted off his clothes, they were really just somebody's old rags, Duo knew that that used to be a large array of colors, but now they were practically black from dirt.

Duo sighed again. It was only by mere luck that he was even still alive to begin with, he slumped down onto the ground and took a bite out of one of the apples that he had managed to keep in his mad dash out of there, it would have to be his dinner tonight, there wasn't much else he could do about it either.

*****

One look at him and you knew right off the bat that he was born into life as a man of the open sea, a pirate, an adventurer, a master of the ocean, a traveler, a wonderer, a woman. Yes this boy was indeed a girl, her long brown hair was hidden skillfully under her hat, she wore men's garments instead of dresses, her boots laced high up to her knees with a sword and knife at her hips. Yes this maiden was not like most of her time, she could cuss and swear with the best of them, and once she even made the first-mate blush with shock at the words that could and would come out of her mouth! And she was proud of it, she fancied herself to be the toughest of the tough, and even though all of the men on board ship knew she was a lass and not a lad, they kept their hands off and in fact treated her as if she were just like the rest of them, not because she was tough, but because her father was their captain.

"HOIST THE MAIN SAILS! WE'RE HEADED FOR A HOWLER M'BOYS!" shouted the captain and his men quickly set to work.

"HEY! GET YA SORRY HIDE IN GEAR OR I'LL RUN YA THROUGH YA SLIMY EXCUSE FOR MAN!" came the unmistakable yell of the captain's daughter as she forcibly pushed she way onto the main deck.

"AHOY!" the captain said as he ran over to his daughter. "How have you been fairing lass?"

"Never better! Now if only these guys would LISTEN to me, then I would be perfect!" she replied with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Her father gave a booming laugh as he ruffled up her bangs with his hand.

"You lass are still a ways too young to be commanding a ship of your own" he said.

"I can handle it! Darren's already got a ship! And I'm older then he is! And I'm three times the man that he'll never be!" she said with a stomp of her foot and folded her arms over her chest.

"And that, my dear one, is the reason" said another female voice as a tall woman walked gracefully over to the captain and his daughter.

"WHAT? YOU SAY AGAIN I DARE YA!"

"Ah Kiora! It's good to see you out of the gully for once!" the captain said as he hugged the woman.

There was only one other woman on board ship other then the Captain's daughter and that was her aunt. Kiora was constantly trying to turn the captain's daughter into a lady, earning Kiora a very low ranking on his daughter's like list.

"Aw! Whad'da ya want now?"

"Fiora! You will speak to me with respect!" Kiora said with a warning glare that Fiora ignored.

"Sorry! But I only respect those that are worthy of it! And you ain't on that list lady!" Fiora returned fire at Kiora's verbal attack.

"Now now ladies…" Captain Gethin said trying to stop a fight from ensuing.

"I AM NOT A LADY!" Fiora yelled as she turned, punched a rather large dent into the wood beam leading up to the crow's nest and marched back down below deck, stomping all the way.

Kiora watched Fiora go then turned to Gethin and said pointing one of her long fingernails into his chest "this is all your fault! If you hadn't worked these nonsense ideas into her head she would still be at home! Acting like the proper young lady she should be!"

"NOW WAIT JUST A DOG GONE MINUTE HERE! Who are you to say that they're nonsense? And what right do YOU have to tell ME what to do? She is MY daughter and I will raise her however I see FIT! Just because you hate me for marring your sister doesn't make it your place to say what is good for HER daughter! I would kindly suggest that you watch where you walk m'lady! You're treading on very thin ice!" and with a curt nod Gethin walked back to the steering wheel of the ship and continued to shout out orders to his crew, who never even stopped what they were doing to pay attention to the fight, it was old news for them, and in about three hours Fiora would return from below deck in a very sour mood indeed…

*****

He was asked to go hunting, he didn't mind, he liked the solitude of the forests. He equipped himself with a bow and a quiver of arrows and proceeded into the forest's suffocating blackness. 

Trowa scanned the area carefully for his pray, an arrow already loaded onto his bow and the string pulled back ready to fire on any unsuspecting wood land creature.

She was wondering through the forest, she had stayed up all night and she still was yet to see neither hide nor hair of her cousin Heero. Then she heard it, the unmistakable snap of a twig, she spun around on her heels, she thought she heard it come from the right, she started creeping through the woods in that direction to see what is was, she hoped it was Heero, but that didn't even calm her nerves.

Trowa spotted something moving through the trees, thinking is was a doe he pulled back in his arrow and let it fly.

Felina turned just in time to see a arrow flying straight at her, she tried to dive out of the way, too little, to late, the arrow hit its mark and she hit the ground with a loud thud!

Trowa ran into the bushes where he saw his pray fall, he gasped as what he discovered… it was a girl! He shot her by mistake! He quickly checked to see if she was still alive, thank heavens! She still had a pulse! There was still time to save her. He removed the arrow, bandaged up her wound, scooped her up into his arms and ran as fast as he could back to the circus troop…

______________________________________________________________________________

Yeah! I did it! The first chapter! Wahoo! Yeah baby yeah! *Does a little dance* okay this one goes out to my best bud Ashley! I'm sorry I tried having Trowa kill Felina! I didn't plan this I swear! But it was the only way I could think of to get those two to meet dang it! *Lol* ^_^; so umm… send all comments, questions, praise, flames, wedding proposals to FioraEmbyr@aol.com okay? Well chio peoples!


	2. Meetings and partings

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What if: Myth

By Rachel

A gundam wing fan fiction

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Keys:

"…" Indicates talking

'…' Indicates thinking

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 2

She saw her brother run over to her carrying a girl. She listened to him when he calmly explained what had happened. She even helped him change the strange girls bandages. But nothing could have prepared her for when this girl woke up and she knew it.

Catherine had washed the girl's clothes; they were made of dear hide, and she had dressed the unconscious girl in one of her old dresses that she couldn't fit anymore. She noted that her hair hands and face were strangely well kept in comparison to the rest of her.

"Is she going to be okay?" Trowa asked as he walked into the tent and motioned his head towards the girl in question.

"She'll be fine, she just needs to rest a little that's all" Cathy replied with a reassuring smile.

Trowa nodded, looked at his sister then at the injured girl, turned and left.

Catherine sighed. It was just like Trowa to not want to talk about it. He was blaming himself she could tell. But what he didn't want to realize was that with the girl's dear hide garments and how dark it must have been, it wasn't surprising at all that he mistook the girl for an animal, it was an easy mistake! Anyone could have made it. Catherine shook her head sadly. Trowa was beating himself up over this and there was nothing she could say or do to help him.

Trowa walked over to the lion cages. They seemed like the only ones that understood without him having to say anything. He knew that Cathy was worried, it would really make her feel better if he talked to her, or anyone, about it. He was glad to know that the girl would be okay, now all he had to do was wait for her to wake up… but then what would he do? He didn't know. 

Cathy left the sleeping girl's tent to get something to eat; she was starving! She hadn't had a decent thing to eat for the past week! If that girl was going to wake up soon, she would have to wake up alone, Cathy was too tired and too hungry to care much about it right now.

Trowa saw his sister leave the tent and decided to pay a visit to the sleeping girl inside.

He quietly slipped into the small tent and seated himself in a chair next to her bed; she was extremely beautiful in a way; her long slender arms and legs, her silky moss brown hair and smooth creamy skin. She really was quite a vision to behold.

The more he stared at this girl the closer he seemed to lean in on his chair, as if drawn by her beauty. Then he tipped his chair over and almost hit the floor, had it not been for all of his years of training in the circus and quick reflexes he would have.

He picked up his chair and set it back upright when he heard a soft moan coming from the bed. He stiffened and slowly turned around 'take is easy Trowa try to stay calm. Real smooth, you just woke her up!' he scolded himself mentally.

Felina turned her head slowly on the pillow as she opened her eyes 'here the hell am I?' she said inwardly as she moaned again as she rubbed her eyes and tried to sit up.

"I wouldn't do that, you might reopen your wound" an almost frighteningly clam voice said next to her and she stopped moving.

"Mosses? Who are you?" She said when she spotted the source of the voice barely visible in the pitch-black room, or whatever it was.

"Mosses?" the man questioned.

Felina giggled almost insanely "Mosses! That's a funny word, mosses! I like the sound of it when I say it… but who are you?"

"I shot you with the arrow" he replied slowly.

"Pwa?"

"It was an accident. I thought you were a deer"

"Oh okie-dokie!"

"Your not mad?"

"No… why?"

"I could have killed you"

"But you didn't"

"What's your name?"

"You tell me your first ok?"

"I have no name, but if you must call me something call me Trowa Barton"

"Pwa? Ok! I'm Felina… have you seen my cousin? Unruly short brown hair, about so tall, Prussian blue eyes, glares a lot?"

"No I haven't, sorry"

"It's ok!" she said with a warm smile.

"Oh so your up! How do you feel?" Cathy said as she walked into the tent and saw Trowa talking with the girl.

"I'm fine" Felina replied.

"Cathy this is Felina, Felina this is my sister Catherine" Trowa said.

"Pleased to finely meet the person I've been taking care of for the past few days" Cathy said as she extended her hand.

"Really? Thanks" Felina said as she shook it.

"How do you like the clothes? I'm sorry if they're a little too big for you" Cathy said as she sat down at the foot of Felina's bed.

"Pwa?" Felina looked down and noticed that she was wearing a lovely aqua blue dress. "Oh I love it! Thanks"

Trowa smiled slightly, it was very seldom that he met someone with such a free spirit; the only other one he had ever met was Cathy. He could hardly believe that there were still people like that these days.

"Your welcome to say here with the circus troop as long as you want Felina… I've already talked with Manager and he said that you could help Trowa work with the animals if you wanted to" Cathy said sweetly.

"Pwa? Thanks but I need to find my cousin Heero… you wouldn't happen to know where he is would you?" Felina asked hopefully.

"Well, what does he look like?" Cathy asked.

"He has brown hair and blue eyes, so tall and glares a lot" Felina replied.

"Hum… no… I'm sorry I don't think that I've seen anyone like that about"

"It's ok! I have to go find him though, he might need me" Felina said with a frown.

"Trowa and I will keep an eye open for him for you until your better, isn't that right Trowa?"

Trowa nodded.

"Thanks. That's nice of you"

"No need to thank us, it was no trouble at all" Cathy said kindly.

"Sis… we need to get ready for our performance" Trowa said as he stood up.

"Yes… and you, Felina, need to rest… we'll be back in about an hour or so okay?"

"Mosses! Ok! Good luck"  


"Thanks" and with that Cathy and Trowa left the tent and Felina turned over to go back to sleep.

*****

He was sitting in the throne room when he heard the fanfare announcing her arrival.

"Here so soon? I didn't think she would arrive for another week now" he said to the echoing room as he stood up and ran to greet his guest.

One of the princess's escorts helped her off of her horse when she arrived at the front gates.

"Princess Jasmine! I'm surprised to see you here this soon… how was you trip? Did everyone make it okay? I would have come for you myself but I have been so busy! I'm really vary sorry I couldn't come to see you personally, you must be exhausted after your long and hard travels! Please come, rest a while then we'll talk," He said in a rush as he gently took her arm in his and led her to her sleeping chambers.

"The trip took less time then expected. Yes, everyone is fine, a little weary but fine. It's quite all-right Prince Quatre, I understand completely, I'm sorry of your loss. Thank you Prince Quatre, you are too kind" she answered his questions in exact order and closed the door to her room gently behind her.

Two hours later Jasmine emerged from her sleep and decided to explore the castle; she soon found herself in the throne room and was greeted with a warm hug from the prince.

"Did you rest well Princess Jasmine?" he asked when he pulled away to study her face, which was colored a soft pink from blushing. Quatre smiled and kissed her hand for good measure, which made her blush even more.

"Yes I did thank you, and please, call me Jasmine," she said as she looked down at her feet, hiding her face with her long glistening black hair.

"Only if you call me Quatre," he said with a smile.

"I would be honored to Pri-oops I mean Quatre" she said and, if possible, blushed even more.

'She is so shy and quiet' Quatre thought.

"Oh my! Where are my manners? Please sit down! You must still be very tired from your journey" he said as he led her to a chair.

"Thank you, it's very kind of you. I'm sorry to hear about your father, from what I was told he was a great man and an even greater king to his country"

"Thank you, I can only hope that I'm only half as great of a leader as he. Do you know why I asked for you to come here?" Quatre asked.

"Yes, my mother said that you wished to meet me, I'm sorry that our meeting is not under different circumstances" Jasmine said solemnly.

"Me too. As I am sure that you know, my father's last request was that I marry you, but long ago I had made it clear that I would never marry anyone that I didn't even know or love. Father was furious with me but he never pushed the matter, but when he--when he died the magi informed me that his last request was for me to marry you, under ordinary circumstances, I would have objected to the very thought of it, but I decided on a compromise, that we get to know one another and if we feel that we should honor his wishes then we will… other wise I would at least like to be your friend. That's not a problem, right?"

"Not at all Quatre, I think that is a great idea. To tell the truth I wasn't sure if I wanted to marry a complete stranger. Even if he was well spoken of, but now that I've met you, the rumors hardly seem to do you justice, if you don't mind me saying so" Jasmine said as she bowed her head slightly.

"No! Not at all! If anything, it should be me who should be saying such things" Quatre replied with a smile.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you, but hardly the truth," Jasmine said as she hid her face behind her hair.

"But it is! You are really too modest Jasmine, and very lovely indeed" He said as he hooked his finger under her chin and lifted it up so that he could see her.

"And you are far too humble" she whispered.

Quatre laughed. "Perhaps we're both right!"

Jasmine just smiled sweetly at him.

"Well then, ahem! Would you like to take a tour of the castle Jasmine?"

"I would love to. Thank you Quatre" Jasmine said as they stood up and walked out of the throne room.

*****

He was wondering through the forest for some time now, muttering and mumbling to himself as he tried to figure out what happened at that castle and where his cousin was.

'It just doesn't make any sense! What's wrong with me? Not that it matters…. She is a human and I'm… well… not… this isn't possible! Dryads aren't supposed to fall in l… lo…lov…. I can't even say the word! She can't be like normal a human… that has to be it! CRAP! I told her my name! I'm not supposed to do that! Great… now what do I do? And where the hell is Felina?'

(Oh and just so that you know… Dryads are a kind of fairy being that lives in forests and some fairies have this thing against giving people their names)

Heero came to a small clearing when he heard voices coming not far away from him and he ducked back into the shadows.

"What is your take on that girl that Barton found?"

"You mean the one he shot? Hum… donno what to make out of her… she sure is a strange one she is…"

"Did you see what she did when those male lions got into a fight?"

"Yeah… she just started mumbling gibberish and they stopped… something isn't quiet right about that girl I tell you Samson"

"Think she's a witch?"

"Maybe…" the men's voices trailed off as they disappeared from Heero's sight and hearing range.

'Girl? Shot? Gibberish? Who is this Barton person? That girl has to be Felina! It has to! She might be in trouble…I should follow them…' Heero thought as he crept out of his hiding place and started to follow footprints left behind by the men.

The trail ended at what looked to be so kind of human campsite, within the campsite there was a host of strange things, men breathing fire, women with hair growing off of their chins, many different kinds of animals locked in cages of varying sizes, Heero cringed inwardly at the thought of the cage, there was also the nasty smell of human food floating in the air.

'She can't survive here for long… if they locked her up in one of those cages I swear I'll…' Heero didn't finish that thought because he heard someone yelling from just up ahead.

"Hey You! Over there! Are you Felina's cousin?" a tall, lean and strong looking man called out to him.

'She told him her name…'

"Yes… you've seen her?" Heero replied.

"Yeah I did… I mistook her for a dear and I shot her by mistake" the man responded.

'Well at least he is being upfront about it' Heero thought.

"Is she all right?"

"Yes… I can get her for you if you want" the man replied.

Heero nodded his approval and the man ran into a tent, only to come out a minute later with a girl with an aqua blue dress on her slender form.

'Felina? No it can't be her! Can't it? What is she doing wearing human clothing?'

"HEERO!" her voice chirped as she broke out into a run and wrapped him into a hug.

'And now they know my name… just great'

"Are you well cousin? Have they been treating you well?" Heero asked when they finely pulled away from each other.

"Yep! I've never been better… honest Heero I'm fine… see?" Felina replied with a bright smile.

"What happened to your clothes? Where are they?" Heero asked as he looked over her once more.

"Catherine washed them for me and gave me this to wear… isn't it pretty?" Felina replied as she spun around to show off her new garments.

"Catherine?" Heero asked with a curious look.

"Trowa's sister" Felina replied quickly.

"Who is Trowa?" Heero asked with a raised eyebrow at her.

"I'm the one they call Trowa," the tall man said from behind Felina.

"It's a pleasure," Heero said with a nod.

"Oh! So you're Heero!" a female voice said from behind him; he turned around.

"Hi Cathy! Heero this is Catherine, Cathy this is my cousin Heero" Felina said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Heero… why don't you and Felina stay a while?" Catherine said with a smile.

"No we can't stay… we're already late enough as it is"

"Where are you headed?" Trowa asked.

"…Heero's being mean! We don't have to go anyplace…" Felina said quickly.

'Why is she going this? We have to go back to the lair to recharge our magic or we'll be helpless out in the human world!'

"Felina… yes we do… our brothers and sisters are waiting for us" Heero said with a glare at Felina.

Felina sighed. "Yes, you're right… I'll miss you both… maybe I'll see you again sometime?" Felina said, as she looked up at Trowa with hopeful tears in her eyes.

"Yes… I think we will… we stop here every year… our route never changes… this time next year if not sooner… I promise Felina" Trowa said in barely a whisper.

Felina smiled and waved goodbye to them as she and Heero ventured back into the forests.

*****

"LAND HO!" the man up in the crow's nest called to the captain below.

"ALL RIGHT M'LADS HOIST THE FLAG! WE'RE COMING IN TO LAND!" Captain Gethin yelled above the resounding cheers from his crew.

But there was one voice that wasn't in the crowd… there, nestled in her fathers bed was the sleeping angel of the sea, Fiora heard her fellow men above deck cheering but it didn't register in her mind until she heard the door to the cabin swing open and slam shut.

"Huh! What? Come out you disgusting fleabag! Or I'll rip you in half!" Fiora said as she quickly scrambled to her feet, sword already drawn.

"A fleabag am I? Now that is no way to talk to your father… now is it lass?" Gethin said with an amused chuckle.

"Oh… it's just you… well then in that case… what do you want from little me?" Fiora said with a smug look on her face as she put her short sword away.

"I thought that I would tell you that we've spotted land and…" he didn't get to finish; Fiora had already whizzed past him and was out the cabin door in the blink of an eye.

Gethin shook his head sadly. "And that, my dear wife, is why our daughter will never have a ship of her own, she loves the land more then the sea…" he said to himself as he walked back up onto the main deck.

"FIORA! STOP! THIS ISN'T LADY-LIKE!" Kiora screamed as Fiora leapfrogged herself over her aunt and dove off of the end of the ship into the waters below.

"THEN IT'S A GOOD THING I AIN'T A LADY!" Fiora yelled back with a laugh as she swam for shore.

"Leave her be Kiora… can't you see that she is happy?" Gethin said as he watched his little girl pull herself up onto a dock and disappear into the crowds.

Fiora wringed the water out of the corner of her dark blue shirt then started off into the town.

"Freedom at last! Two moons of time for me to be free!" Fiora said as she wondered the hard gravel streets. The one price she paid for wanting to be with her father was being stuck on the same ship with her aunt, and after about a year of being on that ship, land never felt so good to her at the moment.

Everyone seemed to be minding their own business, talking to a friend here, buying something there, all in all, it was a simple town… no one pushing, not a person ordering you in sight, yes is was a nice, peaceful, quiet…

"Get back here you little! Thief! Thief! Guards! After him!" a man yelled as a boy pushed through the crowd.

Fiora stepped into a dark ally way to avoid being knocked down.

'What a bunch of assholes! He can't be much older then I am!' she thought as the boy ran by; he was dressed in dark rags and was as thin as a twig with a long braid trailing behind him as he ran.

"YOU GUYS NEVER GIVE UP DO YOU? YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T CATCH ME! HA HA! LOSERS! GO TO HELL!" the boy shouted over his shoulder at the men tailing him.

'Hum… this I have to see…' Fiora thought as she climbed onto a roof and watched the scene down below.

"You, you, you and you… take the left… the rest of us will head him off at the pass… he wont get away this time!" a man said with a sneer.

'That kid needs help…' Fiora thought as she quickly took off her hat and let her long brown hair fall to her waist. She quickly braided it and climbed off the roof and ran down the ally to cut them off. "Perfection! They wont know what hit them!" she said aloud to herself with a mischievous laugh.

Duo climbed onto some large wooden barrels and jumped onto a nearby roof. "You guys couldn't hit a castle wall even if it was two feet in front of you!" He laughed.

"WHY YOU! I'LL GET YOU, YOU LITTLE GOOD-FOR-NOTHING LOUSY STREET TRAMP!" a man yelled from down below him.

"HA! YOU AND WHAT ARMY?" Duo retorted as he ran to the other side of the roof and jumped into a pile of hay.

Fiora saw him land and she hid nearby. 'If I'm gonna help him, he ain't gonna know about it' she thought with a smile.

The two teams of men met not far from where Duo had landed. They started combing the area for him.

"He has to be here somewhere… keep looking! We'll find him" one man said as he slapped a large club on the palm of his hand.

Duo gulped. He looked around for a quick escape but he was trapped, he had landed in a dead end!

'Well it looks like my luck as finely run out…' Duo thought as he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"OH BOYS! LOOKIN' FOR LITTLE OL' ME?" Fiora said with a perfect imitation of his voice as she stepped out of her hiding place and turned to run.

"Why you… AFTER HIM!" a man yelled as he drew his sword and started to chase her.

'Perfection! I can't believe they're sooo stupid! This is too easy!' Fiora thought as she led them on a wild goose chase.

Duo popped his head out from under the hay and looked around. "Hey… what the… what just happened? And who the hell was that? They guy's gonna get himself killed! Is he INSANE?"

Duo crawled out of the hay and quietly stepped out of the ally to see what was going on.

Fiora was running back and forth, slowly whittling them down one-by-one. 

"Hey… this guy's pretty good…wonder who he is…" Duo said to himself.

Luck wasn't on her side though it seems, just as she was about to draw her sword she tripped on a lose rock and hit the ground. That was just the opening they needed and two of the biggest men grabbed her and yanked her to her feet.

"Well, well, well… look what we have here boys… why it's that filthy street rat! Not so cocky when you can't escape now are you?" another man said, who was obviously the ringleader, as he cracked his knuckles right next to her face.

"Yeah well… what can I say? Even an asshole like you has to get lucky sometime!" Fiora replied, still mimicking Duo's voice.

"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" he said as he delivered a left hook to her jaw with a sickening CRACK!

Fiora's head slumped onto her shoulder as she let the blood run out of her mouth. Then with a laugh that could only be described as evil, she turned her head to face the man again. "That's it? That's your best shot? My grandmother could throw a punch better then you ever could! Oh yeah, big strong man you are, beat up on a poor, defenseless, little kid! You wouldn't stand a chance if I could fight back!" Fiora said with an equally evil smile that showed her blood-smeared teeth.

Duo's jaw dropped. 'How? How? How was it even possible? Damn! This guy's got some guts! Christ! And now look at him! They're gonna spread those guts out on the street! What was he thinking?' the answer was simple… he wasn't.

"I said…SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" the leader said as he punched her in the gut.

Fiora tried doubling over in pain but the two men holding her up refused to let her; Fiora just laughed harder. "You really think that's gonna make me shut up? Boy you are a moron! Why don't you go pick on someone with the same low I.Q. level as yours?"

That earned Fiora a kick to the crotch (and I don't care if she's a girl of not! It still hurts no matter what the gender!) But, once again, she just laughed it off. "Go ahead, punch away, but you ain't gonna get anywhere with it, but I gotta know… bet it just gives you a real thrill to hear a man scream like girl, huh? Doesn't it?"

"YOU MOTHER FUCKING, SON OF A BITCH!" the man screamed as the men holding her let her hit the ground where they all started to beat her.

Fiora forced herself to stand up, even with them slugging her left and right with clubs, hilts from swords, fists, saps (saps are large bags full of lead balls and they hurt like hell!) and various other objects.

'No! I can't take it! Why don't they just kill him and get it over with? WHY CAN'T THEY JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE?'

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Duo screamed as he jumped one of them and started to beat the crap out of him.

Fiora blinked once, twice. 'Why is he helping me? He should have been long gone by now if he had any kind of smarts in that head of his!' Fiora saw a sword hit the ground next to her and in the blink of an eyelash she had it in her hands and was using it to fend them off the boy and herself.

"WE HAVE TO GET OUTTA HERE!" Fiora yelled, still in Duo's voice, once she fought her way over to him.

"I KNOW A WAY! FOLLOW MY LEAD!" he replied as he grabbed her hand and pulled her down a long ally and into a small, rundown, church.

"We'll be safe here," Duo said quietly as he sat down on the cold, dust-covered floor.

"What is this place?" Fiora asked, amazingly still able to sound like him even though her voice was very hoarse.

"This is where I grew up… father Maxwell and Sister Helen raised me sense I was only seven years old" Duo replied sadly.

"What happened to them?"

"They were killed in a war… their army attacked our church! A CHURCH! I was the only survivor"

"Ouch… that must of really been though for you" Fiora replied.

"I manage," he said with a smile.

"Say! Thanks for helping me out, I was almost expecting you to have run off as soon as you got the chance"

"Yeah well, I couldn't very well leave you to die by the likes of them, now could I? Hey! You haven't told me your name yet have you?"

"Nope, and it's gonna stay that way" Fiora said as she stood up.

"Why? You helped me and I helped you… that kinda makes us buddies, right?"

"Trust me, you don't want to be a friend to a pirate" Fiora said with a smirk.

"A Pirate? Well that explains how you were able to put up a fight. Man! What I wouldn't give to get off of this place and sail on the high seas"

"It's not all that it's cracked up to be, believe me, you're stuck on a ship with a bunch of people that you may or may not like! And you can't really get away from them either, besides that… it smells bad most of the time" Fiora said with a laugh.

"Well! If you aren't gonna tell me your name I might as well tell you mine! I'm Duo, Duo Maxwell, I might run and hide, but I never tell a lie. Ha! That's me in a nutshell"

"Well if you're going to be all fancy about it I guess it couldn't hurt, the name's Fiora, Fiora Long sword Eleri! At your service!" Fiora said with a bow that made her wince in pain.

"HEY! You okay?" Duo asked as he jumped up and helped her sit down.

"I'll live… its just a few ribs"

"Say, Fiora, that's a girls name, isn't it?" Duo asked as he looked at her.

"Yeah, what about it?" Fiora said with a raised eyebrow at him.

"Are you a girl or a boy?" he asked carefully, not sure on how she would take being asked that.

"Does it matter?" Fiora replied, slowly.

"No not really, I just wanna know that's all" Duo said with a shrug.

"I'm a girl…"Fiora replied

"You sure sound funny for a girl" Duo remarked.

"Which one are you?" Fiora said, trying to change the subject.

"WHAT? I'm a BOY! Couldn't you tell?" Duo said while swinging his arms around wildly.

"You couldn't tell with me," Fiora pointed out.

"Yeah but that's different!" Duo replied quickly.

"How?" Fiora asked with an amused look on her face.

"It's um… err… Ah… oh forget it!" Duo said, dropping his arms at his sides in defeat.

"Whatever you say," Fiora said, looking at him through the corner of her eye.

"You didn't answer my question" Duo said changing the subject back.

"Which one?" Fiora asked innocently.

"Why do you sound funny?" Duo replied.

"Are you saying that your own voice sounds funny?" Fiora said with a snicker.

"MY WHAT?" Duo shouted.

"I'm mimicking it… who needs a parrot when they got me around huh?" Fiora said with a laugh.

"You're WHAT?" Duo said as his jaw dropped for the second time that day.

"I'm mimicking" Fiora replied, trying very hard to sound indifferent.

"Well then, enlighten me on how you're real voice sounds like… or are you chicken?" Duo asked with a sly look on his face.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck" Fiora replied, flapping her arms like they were wings.

"Oh come on! Please?" Duo pleaded as he looked into her honey brown eyes.

"Fine!" Fiora cleared her throat. "Ahem! This better?" she said in her normal voice.

"Much!" Duo proclaimed as his sat back down and leaned against what was left of a wall with a sigh.

"I gotta get back to the ship… they'll be wondering what kind of trouble I've gotten into," Fiora said as she tried to get up.

"When do you leave the port?" Duo asked, wincing himself when he herd the sickening crunch her ribs made when she stood up.

"Two months" Fiora replied as she wrapped her right arm protectively over her rib cage.  


"Do you have to go now?" Duo asked with a worried tone in his voice.

"I don't think they would miss me much if I didn't… why?" she replied as she used what was left of a stone pillar next to her to hold herself up.

"I need some help with something," Duo said quickly making up an excuse for her to stay put so that her wounds could heal. 

"Oh? What kinda something?" Fiora asked sounding interested.

"Glad you asked… you see there is this castle not far from here and……………"

______________________________________________________________________________

That's it for chapter two! What do you think? Sorry if I cut things short… there was just so much stuff for these guys I had to get it all in! Lol ^_^; anyway! Sorry that Felina had to leave Trowa for a while there but I promise that it won't last long! Okay? Don't hurt me! Oh and please review! Tell me what you think! My E-mail is FioraEmbyr@aol.com thanks! And feel free to send me praise, comments, suggestions, and even a flame or two… chio!


	3. Magics' Mystories

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

A gundam wing fan fiction

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations and suggestive dialog.

Notes: this is a non-yaoi, AU, action/romance story, Possible OOC.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Keys:

"…" Indicates talking

'…' Indicates thinking

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 3

Millardo ran down the hall and into his sister's room when he heard the door burst open. With Lucrezea right at his heels he stopped in front of his beloved little sister sitting on the floor among the broken glass, spilled oils and powders.

"Relena! Are you all right? What happened?" He asked quickly and he dropped to his knees, picked her up and re-deposited her onto her bed.

"I'm fine brother, he just got scared and ran away" Relena replied as she sat up.

"Who got scared Relena?" Lucrezia asked, worried.

"Heero" Relena replied.

"Who is he? What was he doing in here? Did he touch you? If he so much as…." Milliardo let his sentence drag off.

"I'm fine Milliardo! I am! He was asleep… I don't think he knew what was going on either… he didn't hurt me at all… in fact I think he was worried about me hurting him" Relena replied as she set a reassuring hand on her big brother's shoulder.

"He was asleep? What did he look like Relena?" Lucrezia asked as she sat down on the bed next to her.

"He looked… he looked odd, his hair looked spiky, but soft at the same time, and it was a brownish green… like the leaves just before the first snow fall, he had dark olive skin and leather clothes… he pulled a knife…"

"HE DID WHAT?" Milliardo yelled.

"Milliardo… let her finish" Lucrezia said soothingly to him.

"It was old, and jagged… it was used a lot… I wonder if he made it himself…I remember his eyes best…. Dark, deep, beautiful… like ice, like glass, cold… but… the fire behind them… they were the richest blue I have ever seen in my life! It was like looking into the deepest part of the ocean… and…. And… I'm sorry, that's all I can remember" Relena finished, sadly.

"You did fine Relena… We'll hunt him down and He'll…"  


"What? He didn't do anything to me. Why do that to him Milliardo? He doesn't deserve that" Relena whispered with a confused look on her face.

"Perhaps I can explain things Milliardo" Traize said as he walked into the room, his long cape flowing behind him.

"Hum… is that so?" 

"King Traize? What are you going here?" Relena asked.

"To help you of course young princess" Traize replied.

"Oh my gods! Relena! Your awake!" Milliardo exclaimed, realization dawning on him.

"… Yes…" Relena replied slowly.

'It took him this long to realize that? Maybe he isn't well…' she thought.

"So the dryad helped after all" Traize remarked.

"Dryad?" Relena was getting more and more confused by the minute. 'What is going on here?'

"You mean you let him in here without me?" Milliardo said, ignoring Relena and shooting a glare in Traize's direction.

"Yes, that's right, I didn't want to waste a second… you knew just as well as I did that Relena's condition was getting worse" Traize replied calmly, un-phased by Milliardo in the least.

"What condition? What is going on here? Lucrezia! Why won't they tell me?" Relena asked sister-in-law with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Relena… what was the last thing you remembered before you woke up?" Lucrezia asked gently.

"…I was walking in the forest when I heard this strange music, I never heard anything like it before; it was a sad, I followed it until I came to this large rock, there was a old man singing, he turned and looked at me, his eyes! I'll never forget them… he had two black orbs for eyes and a long black cloak to cover the rest of him… he saw me, I know he did… he started walking over to me, I was afraid, he reached out to touch my arm when……….." Relena stopped and looked down at the sheets, trying to calm down and get her emotions under control.

"Sister? What happened?" Milliardo asked, having long forgotten his argument with Traize, watching her intently.

"I… I… I don't know…" Relena murmured before all of the stress and confusion got to her and she collapsed into her brother's arms, crying.

*****

"Don't you dare be man-handling me Wufei, I will not have it" Wong said as she turned and marched out of the dojo. 

Wufei had been training hard that day and Wong had walked in to see him practicing his fighting techniques, she didn't know that he was trying to blow off some steam from earlier that day, he had gotten into an argument with Master Long over who knows what, and didn't want to be bothered by anyone. So it didn't come to much of a surprise when he turned and started throwing punches at her when she remarked about his "sloppy skills as a fighter" and that he "should just go back to his pile of books"

Wufei stood with his fists clenched violently at his sides as he watched her go. "That idiot woman! What did she think she was trying to accomplish?" he said aloud to nobody as he glared at the sliding paper door, if he had glared at it any harder one would have thought that it would have burst into flames.

Wong lifted her head high as she walked into the gardens, she would never let something as trivial as Wufei get under her skin, she would never let it, but that never stopped it from getting to her anyways.

'How dare he? HOW DARE HE? Why couldn't Meiran have taught him some manners? I was helpless! And he knew it! Such behavior is inexcusable! Not only does he disgrace himself but now! Now he drags her good name in the dirt with him!' Wong huffed loudly as she tossed one of her hair ribbons that held the buns on her head off of her shoulder.

(Okay please note that in those times they used to warp a girls' feet in these cloth strips in China so that they grew so deformed that all that you could really do was walk… no running, no fighting, no jumping no nothing! Okay? That's why Wong didn't try to beat the tar out of him ^_^ hope that helps)

Stubborn is as stubborn does, and they would take it as far as it would go, it would take weeks if not months for them both to say sorry and forgive the other. It was always the same with them, both hopelessly set in their ways. When push came to shove, they both dug in their heels and wouldn't budge, on any issue!

Wufei sat down on the floor mat and tried to clear his head. 'Why do we always have to do this?' he thought with a sigh.

"Master Wufei?" it was Master Long again. 'Today really isn't my day' Wufei thought with a frown.

"Hum?"

"About what we discussed this morning…" Long began.

"The answer is still no" Wufei replied before the old man could finish.

"Have you talked to Wong about it?" Long asked. He leaned on his walking stick; he wasn't as strong then when he was back in his youth, as he felt his bones start to ache.

"It doesn't matter what Wong has to say about it, my answer is still no"

"What I have to say about what?" Wong asked as she walked back into the dojo, she had planed to meet with Wufei alone, but when she heard Master Long speaking with him she thought it would have been best to wait, she was right.

"HOW DARE YOU! How dare you listen in on us! This is no concern of yours!" Wufei snapped.

"Incorrect Master Wufei" Wong remarked with an ever-so-slight smirk playing at her lips.

"WHAT?" Wufei yelled.

"You are incorrect in that statement… you were asked if you had spoken to me about it, whatever it maybe, therefore it is of my concern Master Wufei" Wong replied, raising her chin in an act of defiance, and to annoy him, it worked.

"Ah! There you are Wong, I was merely asking if Master Wufei would have liked to travel to Cinq Kingdom, a neighboring kingdom across the great sea, and partake in a signing of a treaty for the trading of goods with them" Long said quickly, detecting the negative energies between them.

Wong stopped trying to stare down Wufei and turned to look at Long. "What part do I play in all of this pray chance?" she asked with slight curiosity.

"Why to assist him, of course" Long replied.

"Oh of course" she quipped, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at them.

"I will not travel with that woman!" Wufei said with a snort.

"That Woman has a name Master Wufei, and you would do better to remember it" Wong said with a glare.

"I have heard enough of this! What are you fighting over?" Long asked with an aggravated sigh.

"NOTHING!" they both yelled at the same time.

"Then tell me, why you are fighting over it?" Long asked.

They opened their mouths to say something, then promptly shut them, Long had made a good point, as much as they hated to admit it, he had made a very good point, unfortunately. They looked back at each other and shared an understanding that could only be defined as a truce.

"Good, now you will both meet me at the palace gates one week from today, where you will start on your journey, and to make this perfectly clear, that is not a request" Long said with a glare then he turned and walked, or did his best to, out of the dojo.

They stood quietly, staring at each other for what seemed like years to them, and then both turned and walked away.

*****

They walked for what seemed like forever; at least that was what she said it felt like. He couldn't care less, until they came to a ring of large moonstones surrounding what looked to be a table made from the same kind of stone (also known as an altar) that seemed to give off a strange and enchanting glow.

"FINALLY! I thought we'd never get here!" Felina huffed as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Whose fault is that? If I didn't have to look for you, we would have been here long ago" Heero said as he glared at her from out the corner of his eye.

"I was SHOT! I tried to avoid it" Felina yelled.

"Whatever, lets get inside" Heero said as he placed his hand over the altar.

"Okie-dokie!" Felina chirped as she set her hand on top of Heero's.

The world seemed to spin around them as bright golden beams swirled about them and with a flash they disappeared from in front of the altar and into the world of Tyr, the grand capital of the fairy realm, ruled by the jolly, if not too eccentric, King Wynford. It was a modest place by fairy standards on the streets, but in the town square stood a marvel that still took cheerful Felina and intense Heero's breathes away, there stood castle Grandeur, a very precise name, Grandeur was indeed just that, Grand. It stood high above everyone and everything in Tyr, made of gold and precious gems, she was fitting of her name, but behind her glorious gates was a scene far more spectacular, the mythical sounds of elf music humming around them hinted at that. But seeing it wasn't their only reason for coming to it's gates, no, they would be entering those gates as members of king Wynford's court!

Heero and Felina made eye contact and gave a nod to each other before taking a deep breath and entering castle Grandeur and immediately being swarmed by fellow Dryads, elves, sprites, pixies, Imps, and leprechauns all welcoming back the youngest members of the King's court.

Felina stared in complete awe at the decorations. They were simply stunning! Silver, bronze, and gold melted down into thin sheets and hung delicately from the ceiling. Ruby dishware and sapphire goblets set out on the long tables made out of amethyst and quartz crystals imbedded in enchanted silver. The walls, by some form of fairy magic, were transformed from the fine diamond to walls with fire shooting up from the bottom and water cascading down from the top. Just in front of the walls stood great pillars of emerald, marble floors, and a set of steps leading up to the throne. Among the crowd, fine mythical garments from every shade known to man, and even some not yet known except by the fairy folk, were draped beautifully on everyone. She was so busy taking in the whole scene that she didn't notice Heero had already slipped away into the shadows.

All of a sudden Felina was pulled into a large circle of leprechauns dancing to the quick, rhythmic, beating of the drums.

Suddenly, the music stopped as King Wynford walked over to his throne. "Why greetings and salutations to you all! Had I known that I would have had so few fairies here tonight, why I would have prepared less food!" this got a slight laugher from the crowd. "But it seems that we will just have to make do now won't we? Now where are my youngest and greatest prodigies?" he said as he patted his round belly gently as he waited for said prodigies to step forward.

Felina smiled as she stepped into view, some of the younger leprechauns gasped realizing that they were dancing with one of fairies that the King had asked for and quickly made a clear path for her to the King.

Heero appeared out from behind one of the emerald pillars and swiftly walked over to the king, coming to a stop right next to Felina.

"Ah! So there you are! And you have come in human dress I see!" King Wynford exclaimed, as he looked Felina over carefully, a smile softly gracing his wrinkly and whiskered face.

Felina and Heero kneeled down low before him. He looked upon them as if they were his own. Having lost his beloved queen before he was graced with little ones, he truly cherished the two youngest in his courts, and one day hoped for one of them to take his place when he grew too old to rule.

"Arise my little ones! No need for you to be so humble! Sit! Sit! Sit with me and dine by my side as we once did before we last parted ways!" He said as he took Felina's graceful hands into his as she rose up from the marble floors, a bright smile upon her face.

Heero merely nodded and took his place, sitting on the steps at the right side of the throne with Felina bouncing on her toes gleefully before sitting down in the large pile of pillows on the left.

"LET THE FEST BEGIN!" King Wynford proclaimed as the fanfare sounded, the music started up again, and Imps of varying shapes and sizes carried trays upon trays upon trays of mouth-watering cakes, fruits, puddings, custards, breads, jellies, jams, meats, and cheeses in.

While Felina was clapping to the beat of the elves manipulations of flutes, pipes, harps, and the enchanting echo of their voices, watching the dancing leprechauns show off their great skills on the dance floor, Heero was engrossed in his thoughts.

'Why can't she stay out of my head? Her face, her eyes! Why are such things still plaguing me? She is a human! A human! What is wrong with me?'

And so they stayed that way long into the night before retiring to their rooms, to bed, and to realistic dreams of two humans, two places, and one wish.

*****

Things seemed rather quiet at the circus when she left with her cousin, oh there were still plenty of people coming to see them, but it just wasn't the same with her around to laugh, clap, and cheer from the background. He was no longer blessed with her face when he went out to feed the animals, Cathy didn't have anyone who liked her soup enough for seconds, no longer did they see that Cheshire-cat smile on her face when something exciting was going on. No things would ever be the same without that funny little girl that he shot in the woods.

He found himself daydreaming every moment he could spare away, just thinking, wondering where that sweet, smiling, giggling, free spirit could be. Her long mossy hair, her aqua blues, her long slender body, her lithe waist, wrists, ankles, hands, feet, all of her. He had long sense burned her face into his memory, each and every detail, right down to her very fingers and toes.

'Is this obsession? Is it wrong to want to see her again? All I know is her name and face, I don't know where they were going, who it was they were going to see, or why! There is no way for me to find her now. Is this lust? Love? What if it's more then that? What if she doesn't feel the same? What if I never see her again? What if…' his thoughts rambled on like that for hours on end until he fell asleep in his chair, next to his bed, for one more night.

"Trowa?" Cathy whispered as she lifted the tent flap and entered when she saw him sleeping in his chair again. 'That chair again… poor Trowa… he misses her the most' she thought with a wasteful smile on her lips.

Silently, Cathy slipped back out of Trowa's tent and called over one of the weight lifters to help move his sleeping form into his bed. 'Where he belongs' she thought with a smile.

"Please remember to be careful Alagor… try not to wake him up" Cathy said softly and Alagor nodded before scooping the tall boy over one of his large muscular shoulders, before carrying him over to the pain hey filled bed and laying him down on it gently.

"Thank you, I really could never have moved him alone" Cathy said when she tucked her adopted brother in.

"Don't mention it, really, don't mention it, he wouldn't be very happy if he knew he needed to be tucked in like a baby" Alagor replied as they walked out of the tent.

"You're right, he wouldn't" Catherine whispered, trying to suppress a laugh.

"You should be going to bed yourself too Cathy" Alagor added with a serious tone rarely heard in her large friend's voice. She turned at looked at him.

"Something is bothering you, isn't it Alagor?" Cathy asked.

"You know me too well little Cathy, it's that girl isn't it? That's what he is thinking about all the time isn't it?" Alagor questioned, the stereotype about big men being idiots didn't apply with Alagor.

Cathy sighed. "Yes. He misses her, we all do, she was hear for such a short time, but the way she affected people, it wasn't like anything else, just the simple things, like a smile, from her it was like god himself was shining down on you, she was like magic" she replied thoughtfully.

Alagor nodded slowly. "Magic is right, she was kind enough, but something just didn't sit right with her, she just wasn't quite right, you know what I mean? I don't know. Something was just plain old odd about her, but nobody was sure just what it was though" Alagor said as he massaged his chin with his hand wistfully.

"Well, you are right about one thing Alagor, I should be in bed, Goodnight" she said quickly as she waved and ran off to her tent.

"Nothing is quite right these days it seems…" Alagor muttered to himself as he shook his head at her retreating figure and continued on his way to his tent to practice lifting weights.

Cathy waited until he was gone before she stepped back out of her tent. 'What was it about what Alagor was saying that seemed so wrong, yet so right at the same time? Could he be right? Why am I worrying about this? We might never see Felina again… oh no! Poor Trowa…' she thought as she unconsciously toyed with a lock of her auburn air. And with a sigh of defeat, she let her hand drop limply to her side as she turned and walked back into her tent. It wasn't very big, it was only big enough to hold her bed, trunk of clothes and some makeup, but it was comfortable, and that was all that mattered at the end of a long day at the circus, when you had just enough energy left in you to change into your nightgown, pull down the sheets, and pass out.

Catherine fumbled in the dark as she changed and curled under the covers and fell into a dreamless sleep.

______________________________________________________________________________

Okay, I know this is a really, REALLY short chapter, but what do you want? I couldn't have much more then this or I wouldn't have a very good cliffhanger now wouldn't I? Lol ^_^; anyway, please Read & Review! I love input! I can't write this without some kind of ego boost! How is it so far? Good? Bad? Down right sucks? How can I improve? I need this more then you would ever believe! What about the characters? Any likes or dislikes? Love them? Hate them? Wish they were dead? I really need to know where I stand on this… oh and Ashley… I'm sorry! I didn't get Felina and Trowa back together yet! I promise it'll be in the next chapter I swear! And yes I know! What on earth is Duo up to? And more importantly… what the heck am I on? Anyway… send all comments, questions, praise, aw heck! Maybe even a flame or two! Just e-mail me at FioraEmbyr@aol.com! Chio people!


	4. Crazy is as crazy does

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Keys:

"…" Indicates talking

'…' Indicates thinking

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 4

"So… let me get this straight… you want me, to steal some disguises from my father's ship, just so you, a street kid, can sneak into a castle as a nobleman, just to see some prince friend of yours? ARE YOU NUTS?"

"Is that a trick question?" Duo asked with an amused tone.

They had been arguing over this for hours now, and neither of them looked like they were going to give in anytime soon.

"Well then, riddle me this kid, if he was really and truly your friend… then why do you need to sneak in?" Fiora asked.

"Cause his dad just died and he's gonna become a king and everything so he's really busy!"

"Why should I even help you? I've already saved your sorry hide once today!" Fiora yelled throwing her arms up in the air then promptly bringing them back down because of the pain it gave her in her sides.

"HEY! I saved you too remember?" 

"Case and point… We're even! I don't owe you anything you don't owe me anything! Fair is fair!" Fiora said triumphantly.

"Not so fast, I got us out of that fight alive didn't I? If I weren't there… you'd be dead" Duo said with a smug grin.

"IF YOU WEREN'T? If I weren't there… not only would you be dead, but they would be scraping your remains off of their boots by the end of the day!" Fiora shouted.

"Oh come on! Please? I just gotta see if he needs my help!" Duo said miserably.

"If he really was your friend… he wouldn't be letting you starve out here" Fiora said hesitantly.

"He doesn't know…" Duo whispered.

"Hum? What was that? Squeak up little man!" Fiora laughed. 

"I SAID HE DOESN'T KNOW I'M AN ORPHAN! I never told him…" Duo yelled.

"Oh please! There is just no way he could be so stupid as not to see that! Even if you didn't tell him, he would have known! God you just wreak of it!" Fiora replied wryly.

"Yeah well, he's not the most perceptive person in the land, and besides, I stole an earl's uniform when I snuck in the first time" Duo replied with a sniff. That last remark hurt.

"Oh… whoops… okay… I guess I can help you out… when do you want the goods?" Fiora said, suddenly very sorry about letting her mouth get the better of her.

'Wait! Sense when was I ever sorry for something like that?' her mind screamed.

"You mean you'll do it for me?" Duo asked, quickly cheering up.

'Why do I get the sinking feeling that I was just tricked?' Fiora thought with a strange smirk on her face.

"Sure, I ain't got anything better to do, why not?" Fiora replied.

'Too easy! Who ever said that pirates were dumb was right!' Duo thought with a smile.

"Thank you!" Duo yelled as he jumped up and flung his arms around her in a suffocating hug.

"GAHHH! Ouch! That hurts!" Fiora screamed as she pushed him away.

"Oops… sorry about that…" Duo said with a nervous grin.

"Don't. Chu. Eva. Do. That. Again! I like my personal space… three feet away at all times if I can help it! If you want my help… you're just gonna have'ta deal with not TOUCHING ME!" Fiora yelled shaking her fist at him threateningly.

"Okay okay! I'll keep my hands off jeez!" Duo said with his hands in the air as he slowly backed off.

"Good!" Fiora said with a smile as she dropped her fist and turned to leave. "I'll have your stuff by morning… be here at sunrise… if ya ain't then I take the stuff back and pretend that I don't know you… got it?"

"Yeah… got it," Duo said, nodding at her slowly.

"Great! See you then!" Fiora said with a wave of her hand as she walked out of the church, her hair pulled back under her hat with the brim hiding her face.

"Huh… weird girl… hang on Quatre… your old pal's a comin'" Duo said with a chuckle as he found a comfortable place to rest until morning. 

*****

They were fed, fattened, magic recharged, given supplies, and then they were once again out in the human world. Felina, already changed back into her normal clothing, was jumping from tree branch to tree branch as she talked and giggled merrily to Heero, who was walking silently below her.

"…And I just couldn't believe my hears! They were, like, be a good little sprite and maybe someday you'll get to meet the king! I ALREADY KNOW THE KING! But would they listen to me? NO! They just thought that I was talking about some imaginary friend or something! I'm 16 human years old for crying out loud! Its like they still think of us as just a couple of nosy Nymphs its just not right! I still can't believe…" on and on she went. 

Heero did his best to remain indifferent as always, but even he had his limits when it came to his cheerful and talkative cousin. Enough was enough. "Is there a point to all of this? Or are you just talking because you like the sound of your voice?"

"…Pwa? Huh? What? I'm not! I just thought that it would be nice to talk to someone for a while that's all" she said as she stood and looked down at him.

Heero just kept walking. Now completely ignoring her.

"Humph!" Felina scoffed as she jumped out of the tree she was in and followed him. "You still haven't told me where we're going Heero!" she chirped after about twenty minutes of silence.

"WE aren't going anywhere, I'M going to go back to that castle again and…" he was cut off.

"YOU'RE WHAT? Heero! Are you crazy? You can't go back there! They captured us remember?" Felina shouted.

"Yes, I remember. Something isn't sitting right with me about it though… I think it's that girl… that princess Relena… something isn't right, and I want to know why, that spell on her wasn't cast by just some warlock, warlock magic is easy to take care of, this was strong magic… I'm beginning to think that there is something more to this then what we were told" Heero stated calmly.

Felina shuddered. "What do you think it is?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I'll do all I can to find out" Heero replied.

"Do you think that the other humans are in danger?"

"I don't know"

"Do you think it's dangerous?"

"Yes"

"Well… if it is… how do we stop it?"

"I'm not sure if we can"

"That's not good at all"

"…."

They continued walking late into the night before they stopped to rest. While Heero was setting up a campfire, Felina sat on a high tree branch and looked up at the full moon and star lit sky.

"Heero, do you think that Humans and fairies will ever learn to trust each other?" Felina asked quietly.

"Hum? I don't know. Maybe. Someday" Heero replied, though he doubted his answer.

"Yeah. Maybe" Felina sighed as she watched a star shoot across the flawless sky above her.

'Someday… maybe we'll all get along and I'll get to see you again Trowa… someday' she wished just before she went to sleep, still curled up in the treetops.

Heero looked up at her once he was finished with building the fire. 'Looks like I'm taking the first watch after all' he thought with a smirk as he sat down on a large boulder and started poking a stick at the fire to keep it going, and to keep him from being bored.

Normally travelers avoided staying overnight in the forests, with the wild animals, thieves, and your occasional monster, humans tended not to like it there during the night, which was a shame because that was when it truly was the most beautiful time to be in the forest. It was just one more secret that the fairies kept.

The moons silver-blue beams shimmered on everything it touched, giving off an unearthly glow. The birds of the night cooed, tweeted and chirped in the background as they unfolded their wings and took of in search of food. Wolves added harmony to the tune as they sent their praise to the moon above. The melody was played by crickets along with the wind whistling among the trees as fireflies danced along to the music.

Yes, it was beautiful at night, he would never say so out loud, that wasn't this way, but be knew beauty when he saw it, people thought if him as unemotional, detached, cold even. It was a common mistake, made by fairies and humans alike, but it was also very untrue. He did feel he just never let it show as much as most, if you looked in his eyes, listened to what he said, how he said it, you would know. No, he wasn't emotionless, he was full of emotion, it was just how he was, if anyone cared enough to look then they would see, but until then, he was going to let them believe whatever they wanted about him, even if it was a lie.

He had lost track of time, it was almost sunup before he realized that he had stayed up all night and watched the world unfold before him, he looked back up in the tree, she was still asleep on that branch, he shook his head. 'How did she manage to say up there all night without falling is beyond me' he thought as he allowed himself a chuckle before he put out what was left of the fire.

"Felina! Time to wake up!" He called up to her.

"Hum? Pwa?" Felina yawned as she opened her eyes.

"How did you stay up there all night?" Heero asked.

"Up what?" Felina said as she yawned again and looked around. "Oh!" she laughed.

"Come on, we have to get a move on"

"Heero! You didn't wake me up for my shift!" Felina said with shock as she jumped down from the tree with ease.

Heero shrugged. "You were tired, don't worry about it, I'll be fine" he replied.

"Ok… so which way do we go next?" Felina asked with her usual bright smile.

"That way" Heero said as he pointed to the north after a moment.

"Okie-dokie!" Felina chirped as they started walking.

About an hour later they arrived at their destination. Castle Cinq. It was nowhere near as beautiful as Castle Grandeur, seeing as it was made of ordinary gray stone, as Grandeur was made out of gold and gems, Cinq's gate was a drawbridge that allowed one the only way across the mote, it was only made out of aged wood and iron nails, while Grandeur's was a great ivory gate that swung inward into the main gardens leading up to the castle itself. No indeed, this was nothing like Grandeur, in fact, it looked rather cold and unwelcoming in comparison.

"You'll feel right at home here Heero, it's just like you!" Felina quipped.

Heero glared at her out of the corner of his eye but ignored her comment.

"So… how do we get in?" Felina asked when she had finished laughing at her joke.

"We could knock" Heero replied wryly.

"Right… any other ideas?" Felina asked, surprised that Heero actually made a joke.

"We could scale the wall," He suggested.

"Huh…." Felina looked up, way up. 'There is no way we could climb that!' she thought.

"We could sneak in under a cart," Heero said finally.

"Okay… and where do we find this cart?" Felina asked as she tapped her foot on the ground.

"There" He replied as he pointed at a cart coming up the road.

"Oh…"

They ran over so that they were close enough to get under it and waited for the guardsman to turn his back to lower the drawbridge and the scrambled under the cart and grabbed onto the bottom of it as it was pulled inside the castle.

"Wait until I say" Heero whispered as he waited for the their chance.

Felina could only nod as she got herself ready to drop down from the cart's underside and possibly make a run for it.

They didn't have to wait long and as soon as Heero gave the signal, they let go of the cart, rolled out from underneath it, and ran inside, surprisingly, they went unnoticed.

"Damn… humans are slower then I thought" Felina mumbled quietly from the shadows.

Heero nodded in agreement.

"Now what do we do?" Felina asked. 

"I don't know, I didn't know what to expect once we got in so I didn't plan that far ahead" Heero replied.

"You mean we don't have a plan? Great" she whimpered.

*****

She weaved her way through the crowd back to the docks and made her way over to her father's ship. The strangely christened Dark Stone, why one would call a ship that, she never knew. But it what it was called was hardly worth her time in thinking about at the moment. She still had to get back on board it, get the things she would need and get back off without getting spotted by any of the crew. Which was proving to be a more difficult task then she had hoped it would be.

"I don't care what Gethin said! I don't want any of you to do anything else until she is back on this ship and in my sight!" the familiar voice of her aunt said.

Fiora ducked into the shadows then tip-toed her way behind some large crates to avoid being detected. She snorted at what her aunt had said. 'They won't get any work done then you moron, and I'm not about to get caught willingly either!' she thought with a smirk.

The other pirates took their posts once again by the gangplank leading up to the ship as Kiora walked down it and into the small town. 'I don't need my fortune told to know what she's up to… she's just never gonna give up on looking for me is she?' Fiora asked herself before looking back up at the ship. 'Well I'm not getting in that way that's for sure…' she thought when she saw that the men guarding the gangplank were more loyal to her aunt then to herself.

She dropped onto her hands and knees and crawled her way to the back of the ship where they couldn't see her. 'Looks like I have to a different way in…' she thought as she stood up and dusted herself off.

The Dark Stone was a three mast ship with a basket like perch called the crow's nest on the top of the tallest one in the center of the ship, it carried a flag not of the Jolly Roger (the one with the skull and the two swords crossing it is the Jolly Roger) but a flag that her mother designed, it was blood red with a black border around its edges with a dark blue raven carrying a sprig of holly in its beak, they dubbed it Raven's Ways (just so you know, holly is a sign of death in some cultures and the raven is a sign for dead that can't pass on into the afterlife, so basically what its saying is, we'll not only kill you, but we'll also take and torture your very soul… creepy huh? Holly is also a sign of rebirth just so you know) the very thought of being the attacked instead of being the attacker by this ship made most peoples skins crawl. 'I can't say that I don't blame them! It's a pretty nasty ship to go against' Fiora thought with a shudder.

Fiora rolled a barrel as quietly as she could over to the edge of the dock and climbed up onto it. "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go!" she chanted aloud as she jumped and grabbed the edge of a cut opening for the cannons below deck and pulled herself inside with a groan and a huff as she hit the floor on head and banged her foot on the cannon itself. "Ow…" she murmured as she rubbed her head and stood up. "Well… at least I got in…" she said with a laugh. She looked around for a moment before she took off for the storage rooms to get some bandages, food, weapons and a few sets of clothes.

She opened the door to the first room with a loud SCREECH of the door's hinges. She winced slightly at the noise but continued into the room. 'If they hear me now it doesn't matter, I'll just tell them I'm looking for something to eat and fix my wounds with…' she thought mischievously.

"Now I know you're not a stowaway, they're quieter, and I know you ain't a street kid cause you're not skinny enough… so that must mean that you're my little sister getting into trouble again" a deep voice said from behind her, somewhere near the door way from what Fiora could tell.

"If I told ya once I told ya twice!" Fiora said as she spun around in one fluid motion and sent her knife flying into the door jam about two inches from his nose. "Don't be getting into it! I ain't got time to play games with you Racimous!" she said with a twinkle in her eyes and a smirk on her lips.

"This is how you greet your dear loving big brother?" Racimous said wryly.

"Yeah… as loving as an angry bull maybe!" Fiora huffed.

"And you're just about as saintly as a street whore!" Racimous retorted.

"Yeah so what if I'm a bad apple? What can I say? The good die young!" Fiora said with a laugh.

"You're still the same I see…" Racimous said with a smirk.

"Why do you ask? Did you really think that I would change?" Fiora snickered.

"No, but that's hardly the point here… how have you been?" he asked.

"If these slimy sea dogs would listen to me for once I would be perfect! What about you? And more importantly… what are you doing here?" Fiora questioned.

"I'm alive and breathing, that's about all I can say… I came into port two hours ago and saw Dad so I thought I would trade supplies with him 'tis all" He replied.

"'Tis all, 'tis all my ASS! Its never just 'tis all with you! You're a pirate for Christ's sakes!" Fiora shouted.

Racimous just ruffled her bangs and laughed. "Still the same old Fiora! Now what in tar nation are you doing in here hum?" he asked with a smirk.

"Just getting something to fix myself up… got into a scuffle with these land lovers and I think they busted up a few of me ribs, two of the bigger ones held me down while this short shit tried pounding my hide into the gravel! Damn near snapped my jaw off too he did! Anyway that ain't the worst of it! Then when they finally let me go they decide it would be fun to take their weapons to me! Damn near didn't make it outta there alive… this street kid helped me out and here I am now," Fiora explained.

"You get any of the names of those land folks that did this?" Racimous asked.

"Naw… don't worry about it Racimous… I'll be getting them back my way later" she replied.

"Fine, fine…" Racimous murmured as he walked over to one of the shelves and pulled down some cotton strips. "Okay… lift up your shirt"

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?" Fiora screamed.

"I wanna see how bad it is… and you can't really get yourself bandaged up on your own" he replied.

"TO HELL I CAN'T! Give me those damn things!" she yelled as she lunged at him.

"Whoa! Easy there! You're worse then them Chinese firecrackers!" Racimous exclaimed as he held the bandages above his head and out of her reach.

Fiora balled up her fists as she looked up at him, silently cursing her small height.

"Now, you gonna let me help ya or what?" Racimous asked, glaring down at his sister.

"Fine!" She said, pouting like a three year old as she flopped down onto a low crate and folded her arms over her chest.

"That's better…" Racimous said as he knelt down on the floor next to her and lifted up the lower part of her shirt, careful not to lift it too high, just enough to get at her broken rib cage.

"Humph! Just hurry it up will ya? I ain't got all day!" Fiora snapped.

"I'm working just as quickly as I can you big sissy" Racimous returned the verbal attack.

"Whatever!" Fiora muttered as she stared blankly at the wall behind him.

"There…" Racimous said as he stood up. "All done, you know for a short shit, you sure get into a whole lot of trouble for someone even twice your size!" he quipped.

"Do I look like I care? Hum… NO! When I want your opinion on something I'll ask! But until then! Keep your remarks to yourself Racy!" Fiora yelled using his childhood nickname.

"Whatever you say Pet" he replied with a snicker as he used hers.

"Don't you have a ship to run?" Fiora asked wryly.

"Yeah as a matter of fact, I'll be seeing you around kid, don't get into too much trouble you hear?" Racimous laughed as he turned and left.

Fiora waited until she was sure he was gone before she let out a long sigh as she sunk to the floor. "Why? Why out of all the times that he could have chosen to show up… why now? Me and I rotten luck!" Fiora said aloud to the ships hull. She waited a few moments longer then heaved herself up and went back to getting what came there for.

'Lets see here… food? Check! Bandages? Check! Costumes? Check and double check! What about weapons in case of a fight? Check! That's everything… I hope… oh well… now to get outta here…' she thought as she stuffed her things into a large canvas sack and made her way to one of the openings for the cannons.

"Oh boy… this could be tricky…" She said aloud as she leaned out the opening and peered way down at the dock below. "… Ha! Funny… it didn't see so high up not long ago… oh well!" and with that she pushed the sack out and tossed it onto the dock below. "Guess this means I'm next" Fiora gulped as she pulled herself onto the thin ledge and crouched down on it as she looked for a safe way down. 'It would really suck to get this far only to fall and get myself killed…' she thought with a snicker. She spotted a rope hanging down from a wooden pulley system used to hoist heavy objects onto the main deck. 'That'll work! Well here I go…' she thought as she made a jump for it, she missed where she wanted to grab and almost missed entirely, but as fate would have it, she managed to snag it just before she really started to panic. 'Whew! That's the last time I try that one!' she thought as she wiped the sweat dripping down her face as she life flashed before her very eyes.

"Whoa, wow wee! Crazy is as crazy does… they say… ha… I believe them!" Fiora laughed as she picked up her sack, once again hiding her face with her cap, and walking away from the docks, Dark Stone and into the crowded streets once again.

______________________________________________________________________________

Yeah! See? Didn't I tell you this one would be longer? Gah! I know I promised I would get Felina and Trowa back together soon but it just didn't happen in this chapter! Okay? Don't kill me! I promise it will happen soon though! I swear it! So like please please PLEASE! R&R! Yes… you too Ashley! My lovable friend and Bata reader! Thank you thank you thank you! You are the best! Lol! ^_^; You know the drill by now… all flames, questions, comments, suggestions send them all to FioraEmbyr@aol.com! Okay? Chio peoples!


	5. Not just any warlock

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

A gundam wing fan fiction

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations 

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Keys:

"…" Indicates talking

'…' Indicates thinking

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 5

She continued to sob into her brother's chest while his wife rubbed her back in slow, soothing motions with her hand and whispering comforting words gently.

"There, there… shhh it's okay Relena, it's alright, take it easy, there now, that's it, and take nice, deep breaths what's wrong Relena?" Lucrezia asked softly.

"I… I… I don't know… I'm sorry; I don't know what's come over me… I'm just so confused…what happened? How long was I sick?" Relena murmured.

"Weeks… three weeks, five days, twelve hours and ten minutes" Lucrezia said jokingly.

"It doesn't matter now, you're alive, safe, and well, that's all that matters to us Relena" Milliardo whispered as he kissed his sister's forehead and ran his hand through her hair.

Traize, very much feeling like the odd man out, turned and quietly left the room. He would have to speak with Milliardo later, through letter if possible, he knew of the Peacecraft's strong will, and icy temper, no they would never show it to the outside world but they really did have a spitfire of a temper, no it never burned out of control but in some ways what they did do was far, far worse. They would keep it bottled up, it would slowly grow, and it would keep going until the cork popped off and all hell exploded. Yes, he would leave early and send him a letter; hopefully his kingdom was far enough away to avoid the wrath that would undoubtedly be King Milliardo Peacecraft.

Soon Relena's cries lessened and she pulled away from her bother's warm and protective embrace. "I'm better now, thank you, both of you, I know it must have been hard for you both to see me ill for all that time… thank you Lucrezia and Milliardo, I love you both very much, and had I known that I would have caused you to worry so, I would never have gone for that ride on my horse that day" Relena said solemnly.

Lucrezia smiled and shook her head at the young princess and slowly took her in a hug while Milliardo only nodded and smiled back at his sister weakly.

After a few awkward moments of silence Milliardo cleared his throat and said, "well, now that that's over with, I should inform you both that we will be having some visitors from China in a few weeks to discus trading with them" 

"That's wonderful news! Do you know who they're sending?" Lucrezia asked.

"A young scholar named Chang Wufei and his assistant JinChi Wong" he replied.

"Do they speak English?" Relena asked.

"What if they don't? Milliardo, we'll have to learn some Chinese just to be on the safe" Lucrezia said, worried.

"I highly doubt that they would send someone who didn't… hum… but it wouldn't hurt to know what we're up against" Milliardo said thoughtfully.

"Plus, that would show our interest in doing business with them" Relena added.

"Right," Milliardo said as he stood up.

"Where are you going Milliardo?" Lucrezia asked.

"To my library to see if I have any books on it" he replied as he walked out of the room.

"He isn't going to the library but that's fine, he just needs some time to think things out… it's been a busy day for him… and it's not even half over yet… are you going to be okay here alone?" Lucrezia asked.

"Yes, thank you again Lucrezia" Relena said with a smile.

"Don't worry about it Relena, now rest up, it's going to be very busy these next few weeks I think, and I don't know when the next chance you will get at sleep for a long while" she replied with a smile of her own as she kissed her on the forehead and helped her back under the covers of her bed.

"Thank you, goodnight" Relena murmured as she turned over and started drifting off to sleep.

"Goodnight Relena" and with that Lucrezia walked out of the room and closed the door as best as she could before heading down the halls to where her husband, Milliardo had retreated to.

Relena opened her eyes and peered around the room. 'I wonder where he is… he was really terrified of me, why? Oh Heero, whatever happens, I hope only for the best for you, you helped me, saved me, I want to thank you someday, somehow! There just has got be a way! There has just got to! Heero…' she thought just before sleep claimed her body and mind and took them into the land of dreams. From that point on time seemed to pass very quickly for those in the castle of Cinq, the arrival of Chang Wufei and JinChi Wong was drawing ever near.

*****

There they stood. Backs facing each other with their arms crossed in front of them they stood waiting for Master Long to finally make an appearance. Sure they had made a truce with one another but for them to keep it, they would have to avoid talking to each other as much as humanly possible, both of their tempers were dangerously low and may the gods have mercy on the unfortunate soul that got them started.

"Good, you're both here, that will make matters much easier…" Long said as he hobbled over to them.

"Master Long, you should have sent someone else… you are not well today," Wong said as she turned to get something for him to sit on.

"No, I'm fine, besides, we have more important things to worry about then my health" Long said as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder to make her stop.

"But Master Long! I only…"

"Woman stop pestering him with you useless babble!" Wufei said, cutting her off.

"Pestering? Useless? Babble? Why I… I was only looking out for his well being! Unlike you! Master Wufei!" She retorted.

"Be quiet Woman! As long as you are with me, you will follow my orders! Now shut up," Wufei said with a glare.

Wong looked extremely upset, but she swallowed her pride and forced herself to bow to him. "You are correct Master Wufei, I beg your forgiveness," she snarled.

The truce had to be maintained at all costs, even if she was the only one trying to keep it intact.

Master Long blinked in disbelief at the scene before him. 'What had possessed these two, who were at each others throats just a few days ago, to make them try to stop fighting one another and get along?' he thought carefully. 'No, Wufei isn't trying, it's only Wong… but they only question is, why?'

"Well old man? Are you going to tell us just how we are going to get to this Cinq Kingdom or not?" Wufei asked rudely.

"Master Wufei!" Wong gasped. 'The elders are to be spoken to with respect! They have forgotten more then we will ever know! How dare he be this way? How dare he!' Wong's thoughts seethed.

Long merely ignored Wufei's comment. "You travel south, to the sea where you will have a boat waiting for you. From there you well then sail to the Cinq Kingdom…is that understood?" he said calmly.

"Yes Master Long" Wong said bowing politely to Master Long.

"Hum…" was all that was said by Wufei.

"Then you best be off, take care and be well both of you" Long said as he watched them leave with a caravan of supplies and goods for trading.

"Thank you Master Long, and I wish the…" 

"WONG! Hurry it up!" Wufei cut her off once again.

Wong sighed. "Goodbye Master Long, I wish you well" and with that she turned and walked over to Wufei and slowly disappeared into the distance.

"They can endure the pains of travel, but I can only hope that they can survive being with each other for that long…" Master Long said as he watched them go before hobbling back into the house for some green tea.

*****

It had been a good month for them it seems. They made so much more money there then they did in past years it was amazing! Many said it was good luck, others said it was god smiling down on them, others still said that it was a miracle and that they should re-name the circus in honor of it, but for Catherine and Trowa they thought it could only have been Felina's magic smile and laughter that drew the crowds for the show that people saw the most in that month was theirs.

Everyone in the circus was gathered around while Manager finished the final count and then he would spilt it up equally between all of them, it was everybody's favorite part of being in the circus, the money, well, almost everybody, Trowa was nowhere to be seen when it came time for everyone's earnings to be given out, Catherine would always take Trowa's share to him. But where did one go at midnight in a small town where every shop and pub was closed down for the night?

Trowa stood on a small Cliffside that over looked the small village below, the wind playing with the fabric of his clothes and hair while the trees behind him laughed softly. 'It sounds just like Felina' he thought sorrowfully as he turned, almost expecting the slender young woman that had chiseled herself into his stone heart, he smiled at himself, at how naive he was thinking such things.

"Trowa?" came the voice if his adoptive sister as she walked over to him.

"Yeah?" 

"I have your share of the money we made this month for you" she said as she held out a bag containing copper, silver and gold.

Trowa only nodded his thanks, took the bag and hung in silently from his belt.

"So what have you been going up here?" Cathy asked.

"Looking down at the village," He replied.

"You like it up here, don't you Trowa?"

Trowa shrugged slightly. "I guess" he replied.

"You've seemed so withdrawn lately, I'm really starting to get worried about you Trowa," she said softly.

"You don't need to. I'm fine," He said as he stared blankly in front on him.

"Okay Trowa, I'll be with the others if you need me" she said as she did the same for a long while then quietly walked back to the rest of the troop.

He never answered her back.

On the way back Cathy saw some soldiers talking with Manager; he didn't seem upset at all, in fact it was smiling and laughing with them! Cathy kept a safe distance away from them until Manager shook their hands and watched them climb back onto their horses and ride off.

"What was that all about?" Cathy asked as she walked over to him.

"A change of plans! King Peacecraft wants us to perform for him and his guests that will be arriving in a few weeks and I said yes! I know this will take us off of our route but he has promised us three times the money that we would normally make if we decide to do this. This is a…." Cathy wasn't listening to the rest 'oh no! Poor Trowa!' she thought.

Poor Trowa was right, when Trowa found out that their route would be changing he only walked back into his tent saying that he was tired and lay in his bed, staring at his tent roof for the rest of the night. 'How will I see her now? She won't know what happened… if we go through with this, we wont make it back here until much later next year…' he thought as he soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

And change route they did, by morning everyone was packed and ready to go, everyone except Trowa, this raised a few eyebrows, normally he was the first one ready, Cathy helped him and by noon they were once again on the move. Only this time Trowa was sitting way inside of the bandwagon where no light could reach him and his flute was packed deep at the bottom of his trunk. For once it was a very quiet and sad looking troop, and so it stayed like that all the way to Cinq.

*****

He turned to glare at her slightly before he motioned for her to follow him down one of the many corridors and taking a left into a long narrow hallway.

"What happens if someone spots us? We don't exactly blend in here at the moment. Heero, are you listening to me?" she asked in a whisper as she followed quickly behind him.

"That's fine, I need one of them, this princess Relena to be exact, to see me" he replied calmly.

"This is the worst plan that you've ever come up with Heero…" Felina whimpered.

"Hn…" was the only response that she got.

Felina sighed in defeat as she shook her head at him as they tiptoed their way into a small room and quietly shut the door behind them.

Felina looked at Heero for a moment trying to read the expression on his face, or there lack of, but it was futile in every respect, her cousin simply didn't have any emotions to read!

"Now what do we do?" She asked as she sighed once again.

"We don't do anything, stay here, I'll be back in a bit" Heero replied as he slipped back out the door and down the hall.

'Great, now what am I going to do? This is so BORING! Maybe I should follow him, I mean, anything could happen! What if that Relena person isn't where he thinks she is? What if he gets…' her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door on the far side of the room opening, she quickly hid behind a large potted plant and waited to see who it was.

"…I know you don't like this, I don't like it either! But what Manager says, goes… I'm really sorry Trowa, I know you're disappointed that we might not see her, but…." Felina stopped listening.

'OH MY STARS! Trowa! It's Trowa! What is he doing here? Is this one of their stops? Oh wow, Trowa! I can't believe it!' Felina was practically bouncing with joy, she was so happy!

Trowa said nothing as his sister continued to talk. They had just happened upon this room and agreed that it would be a good place to talk in private. 'Something isn't right about this place' Trowa thought as he scanned the room carefully with his eyes. 'What is with this place that makes me feel like we're being watched?' 

"Trowa? Trowa? Are you okay? Hello? Trowa are you in there?" Cathy asked as she tapped her knuckles on his forehead.

"Yeah?" Trowa said as he snapped out of his thoughts looked at her.

"What is it Trowa? You seem worried"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it" 

"If you say so…" Catherine said slowly.

Trowa only looked on, suddenly a plant caught his eye and he stared at it for some time. 'Huh… that's odd…' he thought as he started walking over to it.

"Trowa?" Cathy said as she watched him.

Felina held in a gasp. 'Oh no! He saw me! What am I going to do?'

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl for her in that very instant as Trowa slowly inched his way over to the potted plant and her hiding place behind it.

Meanwhile, Heero was having troubles of his own. He heard a large group of voices coming down the corridor and he quickly jumped up and grabbed a wooden beam above him and pulled himself up onto in and out of their sight. But that wasn't the worse of his problems, oh no! He not only was he about two feet away from being seen but the one person that he wanted to see him was with that very group!

The group consisted of five or six giggling human women, all about the same age as the princess herself, and while all of their dresses were different colors, they were all the same style!

'Human conformity at its worst!' Heero thought, shaking his head at the girls below him.

"…Did you see the count this morning? He as a preacher's body! When ever I see him I just want to bow down and say OH MY GOD!" one girl swooned as she fanned her face with her hand as several of the others did the same, all except the ever-lovely, Princess Relena, who only looked bored.

"I know what you mean Natalie, it has to be a sin. No being of gods creation could be as beautiful as he!" one of the other girls replied.

"And what of his majesty? King Milliardo? I'm sorry Relena, but I can't help it! Your brother has to be the very devil himself!" yet another girl gasped out with the others following suit.

"It's quite alright, I…" Relena was cut off.

"…And King Traize! I have never seen a man so regal!" the one that cut her off said.

"Oh my! That reminds me!" another girl squealed. "Did you hear the news? The desert prince, Prince Quatre's father passed way! He's going to need a QUEEN! Oh how I do wish it was me!"

"That's terrible! His father just died! I feel sorry for him; I can barely remember my mother and father… Milliardo was only five at the time… we were very fortunate that our royal adviser agreed to take the throne and rule until my brother was older… I…" once again Relena was cut off.

"Yes, yes! You never paid any heed to any of the men in your courts Relena! So many fine men grace your eyes it amazes me that you haven't gone blind from it!" the girl called Natalie quipped wryly.

Relena remained silent this time and slowed down her pace as all of the others in her group started laughing.

Heero saw this and waited until the others were far enough ahead that they wouldn't hear her if she screamed. He was only faintly aware that she was holding back her tears as he dropped down from the wooden beam soundlessly not far behind her.

'Why do I feel so out of place? Was I always like this? Or has that curse affected more then just my health? Was I always this different from the other ladies, duchesses, countesses and princesses of the court?' she asked herself as she continued to walk, fumbling with her silk handkerchief, trying to get it open so that she could dab away the teardrops that were already slipping down her face.

Suddenly he rushed up behind her, wrapped one of his lean and muscular arms around her waist and clapped his other hand over her mouth as he pulled her into a dark empty room before she could scream.

'Oh my god oh my god oh my god! What's going to happen? Who is this? What is he going to do with me?' Relena's mind screamed in her ears as her tears flowed freely down her face and she hands tried in vain to remove her attackers grip on her.

"Stop fighting… I'm not going to hurt you, not unless I have no other choice… I'll only let you go if you promise not to scream or try to run away… got it?" a deep and husky voice whispered in her ear.

Relena didn't respond.

"Got it?" her capture asked once again and this time she nodded quickly.

Slowly he released his vice-like grip on her waist and mouth as he pushed her away roughly.

Relena staggered a bit as she turned around to try and see she attacker but the room was too dark for her so see much of anything.

"Wh-who are you?" She stuttered.

He smirked ever so slightly at this but remained in the shadows. "You don't remember me?"

"I can't see you, how could I remember a face that I can't see?" she demanded.

"Hn…" he replied.

"Why don't you come out where I can see you?" She asked as she searched the room slowly with her eyes, still trying to adjust to the lack of light.

"Hn…" He said once again as he moved out of the shadow and stopped just in front of a patch of light that hit the floor, which streamed in from the only window in the room.

Relena gasped slightly. "You're the Dryad that saved me aren't you? You're Heero!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to him.

Heero backed away slightly when he saw her come running, unsure about what to do next.

"Don't run away! I won't hurt you" Relena said as she reached out her hand to try and stop him from retreating back into the darkness that surrounded them.

Heero stopped and stared at her for a moment then nodded at her before stepping back into the light.

She sighed with relief and smiled at him. "I thought you wouldn't come back" she remarked ruefully 

"So did I" Heero replied.

"Why are you here Heero?" Relena asked.

No reply.

"What made you change your mind and come back here?" She questioned.

No answer.

"Heero, I can't help if you don't tell me," she said firmly.

"That was no warlock spell" He replied.

"What?"

"That wasn't just some warlock that cast the spell on you" he stated calmly.

"I wouldn't know, it was my first time being cursed" Relena quipped.

Heero smirked. "I wasn't asking," he said as he walked over the to the window to avoid her gaze.

"I know. Everything is so fuzzy on what happened when I ran into that warlock, I'm sorry, I know I'm not much help" Relena whispered, barely loud enough for Heero to hear.

"It wasn't a warlock. No warlock could have the power to cast that spell," Heero said as he watched the clouds drift over the moon.

"What? Not a warlock? But if he wasn't a warlock, then what was he?" she questioned.

"Are you sure it was a he?"

"I… I… I thought I did…" she stuttered.

"What do you remember?" he asked.

"I was walking in the forest when I heard music; it was a sad, I followed the sound of it until I came to this large rock with an old man sitting on it singing, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at me. I'll never forget his eyes… he had two black orbs for eyes and a long black cloak to cover the rest of him… he started walking over to me, I was scared, I tried to run, but my legs didn't want to move! The last thing I remember was when He reached out to touch my arm… and that's went I remember waking up in my room w- with you there" she replied softly.

Heero nodded slowly as he turned away from the window to look at her. "I have to go," he stated firmly.

"Will you come back, Heero?" she asked as she watched him walk back over to the door.

He didn't answer.

"Heero wait!" she cried.

"Hum?"

"Promise me that I'll see you again, please Heero?" she pleaded.

"I won't have much choice…" he replied as he opened the door and disappeared down the hallway.

'…I wont have much choice…' his words rang out in her head. "What does he mean by that?" she asked herself aloud.

Meanwhile Heero rushed back to where he left Felina only to find her talking with none other then the people from the circus.

"…Anyway, Heero wanted to see this friend of his here and that's why I was hiding in the plants, I didn't want to get caught! So why are you here Trowa?" she asked.

"I'd like to know the same thing" Heero said as he stepped into the room.

"Heero! You're back! So… how did it go?" Felina asked with a wink and smile.

"Fine" Heero replied.

Trowa looked at Felina then Heero, then Felina again. 'There must be more to this friend then either of them are saying…' he thought.

"For a hunter, you have a lot of friends in high places" Trowa remarked.

"Not as many as you would think, I only had one, and I don't consider her a friend" Heero replied coldly.

"Uh! Say… Heero and I should be going, we'll be around here for a while so we should meet again Trowa…" Felina said quickly as she grabbed Heero by the arm and pulled him out of the room while waving goodbye to Trowa and Catherine.

"Um… Goodbye…" Cathy managed to get out just before the door closed behind them.

Trowa smiled slightly as he stared at the door for a moment then turned and walked out the other door.

"Well… what do you suppose that was all about? Trowa?" Cathy said as she looked around for her adopted brother before running after him.

______________________________________________________________________________

Dang I'm good! Now I'm back up to where I should be page wise! Lol you like? ^_^; Okay R&R! Thank you so much! And see? I got Fe and Tro back together again! So happy Ashley! But what about Heero and Relena? Lol guess I'm just going to have to write the next chapter to find out! And as always, send all mail regarding this fanfic to FioraEmbyr@aol.com! Okay… I guess that's all I wanted to say… oh yeah! STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	6. Bad days and bath times

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

A gundam wing fan fiction

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Keys:

"…" Indicates talking

'…' Indicates thinking

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 6

She held her hands close to her heart as the door closed and the darkness enveloped her once again, only this time, there were no strong warm arms wrapped around her.

'Should I tell my brother and his wife about this?' she thought. 'No, Heero wouldn't have come to only me if he thought that he couldn't take care of it… would he? What if he can't? He could get himself killed! I should tell them… but what if Heero doesn't want me to? Oh god! What do I do?' her mind shouted to her.

"Relena? Relena! Relena where are you?" a voice called from outside the door.

Quickly snapping out of her thoughts, Relena rushed over to the door and tried to yank it open. 'Oh no! It's locked! Heero must have locked it without realizing it!' she thought wildly. "I'm in here! Someone help! I'm locked in!" she yelled as she tugged on the door again.

Lucrezia looked at the door for only an instant before she ran over to it. "Relena?" she called.

"Lucrezia! You've got to get me out! The door accidentally locked behind me!" Relena's voice cried, muffled from behind the solid oak door.

"Don't worry Relena I'm here" Lucrezia called back as she fumbled with the keys, her fingers suddenly numb with fear for her husband's little sister and friend.

Relena sighed with relief when the door finally opened and Lucrezia ran into the room and gave her a hug.

"Relena are you alright?" she asked as she looked at Relena carefully.

"A little shaken, but nothing a good cup of tea wont cure" Relena quipped with a smile.

Lucrezia laughed as she took her young friend by the hand. "Lets get you out of here before we both get locked in!" she said with a smile.

"Yes, lets" Relena replied as they walked out of the dark and desolate room and walked down the halls and into a large room full of acrobats, lion tamers, magicians, and a host of other kinds of people that one would only find at a circus.

"Lucrezia… who are all these people?" Relena whispered as they crossed the room slowly.

"Why they're the circus performers that Milliardo asked to came here for our guests' entertainment… didn't he tell you about them?" Lucrezia asked as she looked at Relena.

"It must have slipped his mind…" Relena said as one of the acrobats all but flew above them in a long string of flips, twists and spins before landing in front of them.

"Oh! Pardon me… I'm sorry, we didn't mean to get in the way," Relena said quickly.

"Don't worry about it, sorry if I surprised you" the acrobat said, Relena was curious on how he got his hair to seemingly float in mid-air and affectively hiding half of his face.

"You didn't surprise us at all, that was quite a feat that you preformed" Lucrezia said with a smile.

He merely shrugged his shoulders. "It was nothing really" he replied.

"Trowa! Come and get your dinner before it gets cold!" a young woman with auburn hair called out.

"I'm coming sis!" the man, now known as Trowa, called back as he bowed to them before turning and walking over to his sister.

Relena blinked a few times at this then turned to Lucrezia and they made it out the door on the other end of the room and finally into the dinning hall where all of the knights, dukes, duchesses, maidens, counts, countesses, earls, lords, ladies, princes, princesses and her Brother all had gathered for the harvest feast.

"Good you're here" Milliardo commented as he walked over to them and gave each of them a hug and a kiss on cheek, or in Relena's case, on her forehead.

"Yes, it took a while, but as you can see, I found her, she had stumbled into a room and the door locked on her" Lucrezia said and Relena blushed from embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it little sister, I'm just glad that you're alright" Milliardo said reassuringly as they made their way to the head of the table and sat down.

"Now that everyone is here… let the banquets begin!" Milliardo announced and everyone clapped cheerfully and partied long into the night.

*****

He smirked at her as she once again lost what little was in her stomach over the rail and into the sea below. Even if it was cruel to find amusement in someone else's misery he couldn't help it if he thought it was funny how she looked like she would hurl herself off the ship every time she vomited her lunch.

"Ohh… I hope to never have to step foot on a ship again I will surely kill everyone of its crew before we even leave the dock" She moaned as she pressed a cold and clammy hand onto her forehead as she dropped to her knees.

'If he has one ounce of pity left in him; he'll take mercy on me and stop making me try to take it like a man, I'm not a man! I'm a woman! And I can't take much more it this!' Wong thought as she choked on what little puke that didn't come up after the last hurling session.

Things had gone from bad to worse for the two scholars, first their water goes bad five weeks into the boat trip, and then the captain dies of food poisoning, they had to toss over half of their supplies over the ship because rats had gotten into it, but that wasn't the worst of it, now a big storm has hit and if they fall off their course too much, they'll never make it to the Cinq Kingdom!

Wufei looked at his lost wife's long-time servant/friend as the smug look on his face died away. 'She really looks miserable Wufei' a voice in the back of his head murmured. 'Too bad for her, weakling woman! She should never have come to begin with' his mind argued with itself. 'You don't really mean that and you know it!' the voice echoed. 'This is crazy! I am NOT having an argument with myself!' 'Like it or not, yes you are Chang Wufei!' 'Go. Away.' 'Make. Me.' "Ugh! What the hell do you want?' 'She's sick you know…' 'Yeah, seasick' Wufei thought with a snort. 'No! She is SICK! Even you can see how pale she is! No sea sickness could do that!' 'Just what are you implying? That I'm blind?' 'If the shoe fits…' the voice quipped. 'Who. Are. You?' 'You know vary well who I am!' 'You can't be me…' 'Thank gods for that Chang!' the voice replied wryly. 'Meiran…' Wufei thought as his eyes widened and a gasp escaped his lips. '…Didn't think that you would catch on that quickly' the voice replied with a sarcastic tone. 'WHAT?' 'Never mind…' 'I've had enough of this!' he thought as he turned and started walking down to his cabin below deck while the odd sound of something like laughter echoed through his head.

Wong watched him from her position on the deck during all of this, and when he stormed below deck she could only stare at his backside with a look akin to confusion. 'What in the world? That's not like him at all… it looked as though he had just seen a ghost' she thought as she grabbed the railing next to her and pulled herself onto her feet. "Master Wufei?" she called out softly as she slowly made her way to the lower deck, the bitter wind and rain beating into her face and back at the same time.

"Just was is it that you find so amusing?" Wufei said to the otherwise empty room, it only had a small desk with a chair and a lumpy bed.

'You, of course, what else is there for a ghost to laugh about?' Meiran's voice replied.

"Show yourself woman!" Wufei yelled.

"Too late" her voice replied, suddenly a lot clearer and a lot closer.

Wufei spun around to look behind him; he took a step back at what he saw. There his wife stood, dressed in that very same robe that she had worn the one the very day that she was killed, although, she was a lot less bloody and a lot more pale then she was then.

"And to think that you called me the weakling… you're not afraid of me, are you Wufei?" she asked with a slight smile.

"Meir-Meiran! H-how…?" he stammered.

"How come I'm still here? Walking with the living dead? You" she replied as she floated over the chair and seemingly sat down on it.

"Me?"

"Yes, Chang, you. You and your moping, whimpering, whining and complaining! It's enough to keep any spirit from resting in peace!" she replied with what could only be a ghost's equivalent of an aggravated sigh, although her voice wasn't as distant as it was before, it still sounded unearthly to human ears.

Wufei clenched his jaw shut as he stared at her, it was hard to believe that she was there the whole time and he didn't even know about it!

"Don't you have anything to say Chang?" she asked as she looked at him.

"What do I have to do to make sure that you can rest again?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"I don't know. But your whining what is really annoying me. You are a warrior Chang! Warriors don't whine! If they want something they TAKE IT! If someone tries to take something from them they KILL to protect it! You're doing nothing but sniveling around, with your nose planted in a book! I told you that you were stronger then that before I died and I cannot allow you to be degrading yourself because your self-esteem got stuck on the wrong side of the great china wall!" she scolded.

Wufei snorted. "You are still just as arrogant as you were when you were alive I see" he said wryly.

"Look who's talking, Mister I'm-only-better-because-I-am-a-man Wufei!" she retorted.

"Master Wufei? Are you all right in here? Who are you talking to?" Wong's voice rang above the sound of the storm and through the wood door.

"I'm fine! Go away!" Wufei yelled back.

Meiran's ghost laughed. "No you aren't"

"Shut up Woman!"

"Master Wufei? What is going on in there? Open this door! Open this door at once!" Wong shouted as she pounded on the heavy door with her fist.

"You should let her in, she's worried about you, you wouldn't want her to think you're crazy, would you?" Meiran said with a snicker.

"WOMAN! I said GO AWAY!" Wufei yelled back at the door.

"MASTER WUFEI! IF YOU DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR BY THE TIME I COUNT TO TEN, I WILL HAVE THE FIRST-MATE BRAKE IT DOWN!" Wong screamed back.

"She knew I was going to die that day… she promised that she would never leave and help you in whatever way she could, I knew it was my time to die Wufei! Stop punishing yourself for something that was unavoidable!" Meiran said as she stood up and glided over to him.

"NO! You're wrong! What you are suggesting is that fate ripped you away from me without justification! What right did mankind have to take you away? WELL?"

"One… two… three…"

"Nothing in life is ever fair Wufei! Look at Wong! She or her family never did anything wrong, and yet she was a slave for our house! Where is the justice in that? What right did the world have to take away her family's basic right of freedom? Answer me Wufei! I fought for justice, I fought so that she would have freedom, is it not true that after my death that all of the other servants were set free? That she chose to stay so as to keep her promise to me? WELL? Tell me! Was my death in vain?" Meiran yelled.

"Six… seven… eight… Master Wufei! Please! Open the door! Please…"

Wufei stared at the spirit for a long moment in mute shock. "…Meiran…I… no, Nataku… you died without your work complete! So many still suffer from the injustices of this world…"

She smiled a ghost smile as she reached up to touch his face with a transparent hand. "Yes, there is still much that needs to be done, but it was not for me to do Wufei… no, I'm not Nataku, I am not the strongest, I can't bring justice to this world. No, I am not Nataku… you are…" and with that she faded way.

"Meiran? Meiran! MEIRAN! MEEIIRAAANNNNNNNN! NOOOOO!" he screamed as he dropped to his knees.

"MASTER WUFEI!" Wong shouted when she heard his cries. "GET THIS DOOR OPEN! I DON'T CARE HOW! JUST DO IT! MASTER WUFEI MIGHT BE IN DANGER!" she screamed at one of the crewmen that stopped to watch the scene before him.

"Aye, aye ma'am!" he said quickly as he rammed his shoulder into the door.

It gave way without a struggle and the crewman fell to the floor of the small room with Wong rushing in as fast as her feet could manage over to Wufei, who was sitting on the floor with his hands over his eyes and the whole ship rocked within the fierce storm raging above deck. The small chair skidded into Wong as she tripped and scraped her hands and knees on the harsh wood planks that was the flooring, quickly recovering, she got back up and sat down next to Wufei, wrapping a comforting and supporting arm around his shoulders.

*****

She got a small room to stay in at the back of the local Tavern with what gold she had earned from their latest ship raid, which amounted to quite a large sum, and turned in for the night. The next morning however, she spilt the gold into three smaller leather pouches and made her way back to the old church with the large canvas sack full of what she had borrowed from her father's ship only the day before.

'Lets see if this kid's got enough gall to try and pull this off… it takes more then just guts and balls to brake into a castle in the middle of the day after all…' she thought as she turned into the ally and into the small opening in the wall that served as the street kid's front door, the original was blocked by fallen rubble and could not be opened.

"Raise and shine gorgeous! We got a…YIKES!" Fiora screeched as a long spear whizzed by her ear, grazed her hair and lodged itself into the wall behind her.

"Who are you?" a skinny black haired, blue-eyed, dirt-smeared girl questioned angrily as she readied another spear.

"WHO AM I? JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Fiora screamed as she dropped her sack and with one fluid motion, had her sword drawn, knocked the spear out of the girl's hands and had her pinned against the wall.

"DUO! HELP!" the girl cried as the tip of Fiora's blade touched the spot right between her eyes.

"Oh! So you know Duo then huh? Well, that's a little different now then isn't it?" Fiora said with a laugh as she removed her sword from the girl's frightened face and placed it back in its sheath.

"Wh-wh-wh-who a-a-are yo-you?" the girl stammered from the shock of having a near-death experience with the small, brown-eyed, quick-tempered girl before her.

"That really none of your business. I'm looking for Duo, where is he?" Fiora said with a laugh.

"What do you want with him?" the blue-eyed girl asked.

"Not what I want with HIM… more like what HE wants with ME… now do you mind killing the small talk? As much as I enjoy chatting, and I do, very much so, I don't have the time to deal with you right now… so could you point out which rock he crawled under and get lost?" Fiora snickered.

"DON'T TALK ABOUT MY DUO THAT WAY!" she yelled.

"YOUR Duo? I'm sorry… I didn't see your name written on him when I found him, terribly sorry about that… look girly! I couldn't give a shit about what he does behind closed doors! I'm only helping him out… once this is all over you can have your Duo back, but until then, I'll just borrow him the time being" Fiora said wryly.

"It's okay Hilde! She's telling the truth" Duo's voice sounded as he ducked through the doorway and walked over to them.

"…Well… as much of the truth as one can get outta a person such as myself" Fiora said with a smirk.

"Duo, what's going on here… and who is she?" Hilde asked as she eyed Fiora carefully.

"Her name isn't of any importance to you, girly! Just stay outta this and you live to see your next birthday!" Fiora said casually as she walked back over to her sack and began to dig through it.

Hilde and Duo both gulped nervously. "Um… Hill… maybe you should go…" Duo said as he motioned her towards the door.

"Um… yeah, that might not be a bad idea, I'll catch you later then Duo… bye!" she replied as she rushed out the door and back down the ally and out of sight.

At first it was too muffled to tell, but as Fiora stood upright again it was clear that she was laughing like there was no tomorrow. "PRICELESS! You guys have gotta be the MOST gullible people I've ever MET!" Fiora howled.

"Yeah… well… whatever! Did you get the stuff or not?" Duo asked impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor rapidly.

"Yeah, I got it all right… said you was an earl the first time right?" she said as she pulled out two large packages covered with a parchment wrapping.

"Yeah, that's right" Duo replied as he ran over to her excitedly.

"Whoa! Easy there… can't be letting to touch these just yet," she said as she quickly maneuvered them behind her back.

"Why not?" he asked with a whine.

"I'd hate to brake it to ya, but truth be told, you're not only a walking dirt ball, but you smell like something that crawled outta the mouth of a serpent's cave! And ya look three times worse! Uh huh! No way am I gonna risk THESE things getting ruined! I'm in enough trouble cause if you! I don't need destroying perfectly nice costumes added to my list of things that'll get me hanged from the yardarm by my toes! Thank you very much!" Fiora replied loudly.

"Well, what exactly are we gonna do about it? Its not like I'm gonna take a bath or something!" Duo shouted back.

Fiora's eyes suddenly started to glint almost evilly in the light, her lips turned up in a mischievous sneer as a soft chuckle rumbled from her stomach, suddenly exploding into an all out booming laugh.

Duo shrank back from her about two feet. 'Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man! I do NOT like the sound of this!' he thought as she slowly advanced on him, as if a panther set out to capture her pray. "Fiora? What're ya gonna do?" he asked fearfully.

"Come on!" Fiora exclaimed as she grabbed him by the wrist with her free hand and hauled him out of the church down to the river that ran through the small town.

"Fiora! No! What are you gonna do? FIORA! NO WAY! THAT WATER IS COLD!" Duo yelled as his eyes almost shot out of his head when he realized what was going on and started struggling, trying to break the grasp her small hand had on his bony wrist.

"Consider it incentive to get clean the first time so ya wont have to go back in!" Fiora replied, laughing until she had tears in her eyes.

"There is NO WAY I'm getting in there! FORGET IT FIORA! I'll catch the flu in this weather! I AIN'T GOING IN THERE!" Duo exclaimed, still trying to fight his way out of her surprisingly strong grip.

"THE HELL YOU AIN'T! You… are… getting… in… even… if… I… have… to… DRAG YOUR SORRY HIDE IN THERE! I… don't… care… if I… have to… FORCE… you to take a… BATH! You… ARE… going to… and that's THAT!" Fiora proclaimed as she dragged him across the crowded gravel streets to the river where she have one last harsh tug on his arm and sent him staggering forward, tripping over her outstretched leg and teetering on the edge of the banks before falling in with a SPLASH!

Duo thrashed around like a mad man as he screamed from the shock of the icy water zapping him of his beloved body-heat. "FIORA! THIS WATER IS DAMNED FUCKING COLD!" He added once he had gotten his bearings and was trying to get out of the water that had gotten him thoroughly soaked to the bone.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Fiora yelled as she tackled him back into the water by launching herself at him and taking him down with her. 

This resulted in even more splashing, screaming, and swearing on Duo's part. Fiora promptly busied herself with scrambling over to an old lady who was washing her clothes when they had arrived, asked if she could borrow the lye soap before grabbing it and using large amounts of it in Duo's hair.

"UGH! FIORA! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU PUTTING IN MY BRAID?" Duo screeched when he reached up and touched his now very slimy hair on the top of his head.

"AW SHUT UP AND HOLD STILL! AIN'T YOU NEVER HEARD OF SOAP BEFORE?" she yelled back as she dunked him under the water's surface to rinse out the apposing goop.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? DROWN ME?" Duo gasped loudly when he finally came up for the much-needed oxygen.

"WELL IF YA WOULD STOP STRUGGLING… GAH!" Fiora yelled as he knocked her back and she went under the water herself.

By this time they had gathered quite the crowd as they fought among the dirty clothes, lye soap, and what was the grime that was plastered onto Duo and the rags that he called clothing. It really shouldn't have come to much of a surprise to her aunt when she had happened upon the scene. She only hesitated but for an instant, before she snapped her eyes shut, opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs, "FIORA ELERI!"

Fiora froze that in that very second, before murmuring, "Uh oh…" slowly she turned her head to see, right behind her stood one very red, very angry and very murderous looking aunt Kiora.

"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? GET. OUT. OF. THERE. THIS. INSTANT!" Kiora's once regal voice screeched as she grabbed Fiora by her arm and yanked her onto her feet and out of the water as if she were nothing more then a soggy dish rag.

"Why Aunty Kiora! How nice to--" Fiora started but was cut off.

"DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT STARTING WITH ME YOUNG LADY," Kiora cut in with a glare at her niece.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever… what do ya want?" Fiora asked as she yanked her arm out of her aunt's grasp and started rubbing the tender flesh where she was sure that she would get a bruise later.

"Just what did you think you were doing?" Kiora questioned, ignoring Fiora completely.

"Helping a friend take a long over-due bath? What the hell is wrong with that?" Fiora replied.

"Hey! I was just--" Duo started to say.

"SHUT UP!" both Fiora and Kiora yelled at the same time.

"Jeez! Okay, okay, I can take a hint…" Duo muttered as he dragged himself out of the river and sloshed his way up the bank where he started drip-drying in the sun.

"Just where have you been? Everyone has been worried sick!" Kiora scolded.

"Bullshit, ain't nobody would of missed me unless they needed me, which I doubt cause when I left there was nothing for me to do… you just missed picking on me!" Fiora retorted.

"Watch your mouth with me young lady!" Kiora snapped.

"…Two words. Bite. Me!" Fiora yelled as she grabbed her things, snagged Duo's still vary sore wrist and marched off. 

"YOUNG LADY! YOU GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" Kiora screamed as she stomped her foot on the ground angrily.

"Later, Aunty!" Fiora remarked with a laugh as they took off running into the crowds and out of sight. The only sign of which way they went, were the muddy imprints of the two's shoes left behind them.

______________________________________________________________________________

Whew! Christ did that ever take long to write! I hope you like it, dang writers block! I'm running out of chapter fillers here! I know what I WANT to happen; I just don't know for sure HOW to make it happen! Grrr! Any ideas? All are welcome you know; just E-mail me at FioraEmbyr@aol.com thanks a bunch! And see you latter people!


	7. The Invitations

**__**

What if Myth

By Prinder

A gundam wing fan fiction

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations and POSSIBLY some suggestive dialog

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Keys:

"…" Indicates talking

'…' Indicates thinking

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 7

It was closer to dawn then it was to midnight by the time the harvest feast was finished and everyone was tucked neatly into his or her own beds, sound asleep. That is, except for one young soul.

"I don't think I have a choice… Heero, what did you mean?" the young princess pondered as she sat on her lonely balcony, gazing at the heavens above her, or more precisely, the silver moon as it too got ready for bed, and the sun stretched his golden beams in a yawn and readied for the ever-promising new day.

"You promised you would come back, Heero, where are you now?" she murmured to the gentle wind as it played in her tresses and kissed her rose tinted cheeks.

Unknown to her, he was much closer then she would ever dared to think.

"Relena…" 

"I still don't see why we had to camp out here all night, Heero, Heero? What're you looking at?" Questioned Felina as she picked the seemingly endless amount of leaves out or her hair and off of her back from sleeping on the hard castle grounds.

"Nothing…" was all she got for a reply as he turned away from the angelic view of the fair princess and back to his cousin.

"Okay! So, now what do we do?" she asked with a beaming cat-like grin.

"You stay with us," an all too-familiar voice said from not far behind them.

"Trowa! What are you doing out here so early?" Felina asked as she rushed over to him and gave him a warm hug, which he returned with surprising ease.

"That would be risky for you, why make an offer like that?" Heero questioned.

"I always wake early, and when I over heard you talking in the bushes I thought it best that you be somewhere safer then outside" Trowa replied, in his ever-calm way.

"Hn." was all he got for a reply.

"In Heero-talk that means 'lets do it'" Felina said with her ever-present and ever-pleasant smile.

"We're set up this way," Trowa said as he turned and motioned them to follow.

"Come on Heero… I want to sleep on one of those human beds again, those were comfy!" Felina exclaimed as they quickly followed him.

*****

She staggered forward so suddenly as she walked down the long wood bridge to the all-too-firm ground that was land that she fell upon her hands and knees onto what was a low mountainside that dropped off steeply into the waters below.

Wufei smirked at her misfortune, leaning over the rail of the ship as he did so.

Wong, not being able to take his quiet insults, stood up on shaky legs and promptly dropped back down to her knees again.

Wufei's smile faded away as he made his way off of the ship, wobbling a little himself (people who aren't used to being in ships for a long time get what you would call "sea legs" meaning that they are used to the sway of a ship, and when they go on land, well this happens) as he made his way over to her.

"M-Master Wufei, forgive me, but I don't think I can do this" Wong said as she looked down and stared at her hands like they were the worlds most interesting things to look at.

"Get up Woman, you whine too much" Wufei said as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes Master Wufei…" she said with an aggravated sigh as she finally managed to get onto her feet and stay up for the first time since they had left port in India.

"About time" Wufei remarked as they descended down the hill and into the town below.

"I would have thought that they would have met us when we arrived" Wong commented as they tried to find their way through the town and to the castle gates.

"I did too, but we were also late in arriving, it is possible that they are busy with things of more important nature" he replied.

"Hum… perhaps, though I highly doubt it"

"Do you now?"

"Yes, is it not custom in these parts not to invite a guest into ones land without at least sending someone assure that said guests are taken care of and are indeed well?" Wong questioned.

"That is very correct, which is why I was sent not two hours ago to see if you had arrived Mister Chang Wufei and Miss JinChi Wong" a stout man of about twenty-three said as he made his way through the crowd and over to them.

"And just how do you know that we are who you say we are?" Wufei asked warily.

"Milord, forgive me for saying so, you might not have realized it, but you stand out much more then you would like to believe here then you would back in China" the man replied.

"Master Wufei, look around, he is right, everyone looks very different then those in China, our robes themselves stand out among all of these, these…" she trailed off, running out of English and resorting to Chinese to explain.

Wufei just nodded to her and turned back to the man. "What do you call what you wear?" he asked harshly.

"We call them many things Milord, you can call them clothes or garments, if you will" the man replied.

"Garments…" Wong echoed as she tried the strange new word on her tongue.

"Yes Milady, if you will both follow me, I will take you to Castle Cinq" the man said with a smile.

"Yes, lets see your 'castle' as you call it" Wufei replied.

"Good, Good… now if Milady would honor me as to take my arm, we shall go" the man said as he extended his elbow to Wong, who only look at him vaguely.

"I do not understand this custom, forgive me, please explain" Wong said, more then slightly hesitant.

"Ah, yes, well how silly of me, it is really just a form of curtsey a gentleman shows to a lady" he replied nervously.

"Curtsey for a woman, we do not show such things in public, how does this act of 'taking arms' show such a thing?" Wong said as she slowly linked her arm with his.

"A waste of time, that would be better spent elsewhere, if you ask me" Wufei said as he walked a few paces in front of them.

"Well Milady, I never really thought of why it does, I suppose it could be that a gentleman could watch-out for a lady, no man would lead himself into a muddy river just to spite the woman on his arm and ruin his garments" the man replied, knowingly or unknowingly, ignoring Wufei.

Wong smirked. "I can think of one that would do such a thing" she huffed.

"Then he is no gentleman and someone should take a tall tree and a short piece of rope and put him out of Milady's misery" the man commented, not realizing the evil glare he was receiving from Wufei, and the tell-tale smirk on Wong's face.

"I could never permit such an act upon my Master Wufei" Wong said as she buried her face in his shoulder, and if it were even possible, she earned an even viler glare from Wufei as he looked over his shoulder at them.

"Oh ho! You are a vixen you were talking about Chang! You wouldn't be trying to cause me any misfortune now would you Milady?" he asked with a grin and a sly look in his eye.

"Humph!" was all that was said from Wufei.

"Hardly, you did that on your own" Wong replied, glad that she could out smart not one, but two men at the same time.

"Well at any rate, here we are! Welcome to the Castle of Cinq!" the man announced as they stopped at the drawbridge.

Wufei and Wong looked up at the mighty stone castle with expressions akin to pure awe at its size, it was HUGE!

"Having a house so tall is unseemly…" Wufei grumbled, trying to hide the fact that he was as amazed as Wong. 

Wong could only stare up at the banners flowing freely on the very top of the watchtowers with mute shock and marvel at their height.

"Well of course it's unseemly Lord Chang! It was made for royalty! And after all, royalty loves to be seen, and what better way of making everyone notice then to build and live in a castle!" their guide exclaimed.

"Don't call me Chang, you will refer to me as Wufei, nothing more" Wufei snarled at him.

"Please excuse me! I didn't mean any disrespect Lord Wufei, I didn't know"

"And now you do, see that it doesn't happen again"

Wong sighed inwardly. 'He just never learns, will he ever learn to be humble?' she thought as they made their way inside and were promptly greeted by King Milliardo, Queen Lucrezia, and Princess Relena.

"How, many, goods, it, is, to, meat, you" Milliardo said in very badly broken Chinese and a sloppy bow.

Wong had to fight with herself to keep a straight face as she and Wufei shared a look at one an other before Wufei replied back in Chinese, "If you expected us to be impressed with your butchering of our language, expect nothing more then pure disgust"

To which Milliardo replied, one again in that butchered Chinese, "Great, many, thank, you, tell, us, do, you, talk, English?"

Wong had to bite her tongue to keep her giggles to herself.

"Much better then your Chinese I would hope!" Wufei snapped in his almost perfect English.

Wong lost it this time as she covered her mouth with her hands and she giggled wildly at the expression on the King's face.

Relena, realizing what had just happened, also chuckled at her Brother's demise.

"Now that that's done, lets get to the introductions, I'm Queen Lucrezia, this is giggling thing next to me is Princess Relena, and the victim of your joke is none other then my husband, King Milliardo" Lucrezia said as she wiped away the tears of laugher in her eyes.

Wong composed herself and took a bow. "I am Wong, JinChi Wong, it is a pleasure"

"My name is Chang Wufei. Perhaps it would be best if we did our negotiations in your language, your grasp on ours is not anywhere near as refined" Wufei commented, not even bothering to bow like Wong.

"Yes, well… ahem! Shall I have one of our servants show you to your chambers?" Milliardo asked, quickly trying to save what little of his ego that he had left.

"You have servants?" Wong questioned.

"Yes, with as large as a place this is, we need many servants to keep it running in perfect order" He replied.

"Wong was once a servant in my house, we freed the others but she stayed at my wife's last request, we still manage to run the house in perfect order without them, as I am sure that you could just as well" Wufei said calmly.

"Yes, um… well, that is something to think about now isn't it?" Milliardo said thoughtfully.

"Relena, Why don't you show Lord Wufei and Lady Wong around the castle?" Lucrezia said, effectively changing the subject.

"Oh of course, that is if they want to, I'm sure after that long sail across the seas to get here must have made you both quite weary" Relena replied as she looked at the two scholars with a pleasant smile on her face.

"You are quite correct Princess Relena. Perhaps another time would be best, after we have regained our strength" Wong said with a polite bow.

"Then how about I show you to your rooms?" Relena asked.

"That would be most kind of you Princess Relena" she replied as they followed Relena up one of the many flights of stairs, down hall ways and corridors, until they almost couldn't keep track of all the turns anymore!

Once they had arrived in their respective chambers, Wong was very surprised to see how finely decorated her room was; it had a rich cherry wood, four poster, canopy bed located in the middle of the wall on the far end of the room, matching night stands, a desk, two chairs, one by the bed and the other next to the desk, a nice warm fire in the hearth, and lovely trinkets and knickknacks everywhere she looked. 

'And I am not the one they should be impressing! If my room is this grand, then Master Wufei's must be simply stunning!' she thought as she climbed into the sweet smelling hay and down filled bed, and promptly falling into a blissful sleep.

*****

She was laughing the whole way back to the church when they made their getaway from her aunt, who was most likely sporting a nice fireball red color from her head to the very tips of her toes by now.

"That- that- that thing was your AUNT?" Duo gasped.

"You got it! That hell cat was, indeed, my loving aunty Kiora" Fiora snickered.

"But, if she was so mad, why did she let us get away?" he asked once he had caught his breath.

"If she had one of her goons with her she wouldn't have!" Fiora replied as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Goons?"

"Some of the Pirates are more loyal to her then to me, she's got some of the bigger guys running around like her lap dogs! Don't know how she do it, but she do and I'm out numbered ten-to-one if my dad ain't there to take my side" Fiora spat.

"Oh… so… um… now what do we do?" Duo asked, changing the subject after getting a mouthful from her.

"Now YOU get changed into this," she replied as she removed the wrapping from the garments and revealed them for the first time.

Duo's costume consisted of a pair of skintight black leggings, cream colored blouse-like T-tunic, breastplate over-shirt made with royal blue and black for the trim, and a long black cape with a gold clasp in the front to keep it in place.

Duo turned around a few times as he admired himself. "Whoa, you sure this is for an earl? It looks more like it was made for a prince!" he exclaimed.

"Really? Huh…donno, I thought I grabbed the right costume, I might have been wrong, it used to be my older brothers; he grew out of it so he left it on my dad's ship, it's a nice fit on you, besides that, I ain't about to do back there to get the right one, you can just tell your prince friend that you've moved up in the world quite a bit since the lest time you two met and it won't be a problem!" Fiora said, as she looked him over carefully.

"Hey… what about you?"  


"What about me?" Fiora asked.

"What're ya gonna wear?" Duo questioned.

"Who me? My job is just to get you into the castle, our deal said nothing about getting ME in" she replied.

"But I already know how to get in! I needed…" Fiora cut him off.

"You needed the costume, I ain't got anything else that you'll need other then that, so what's your problem?" she said.

"… I wanted you to come with me; I'm not any good at this royalty stuff! I don't know how to act! You're good at this stuff! I saw you with my own two eyes when you pretended to be me! You fooled everyone! You just gotta help me! PLEASE!" Duo all but begged.

"…Ugh! Fine! I'll do it, but don't think I'm gonna like this for one second, figures that I would get roped into this, why me? What the hell did I ever do to deserve this?" she whined as she grabbed her sack and marched off into the only other room within the church that was still standing to change.

Duo was tempted to sit down but didn't for fear of messing his clothes up and risking the tiny pirate girl's wrath so he waited. And waited. And waited. 'What the hell is she doing? Setting up camp?' Duo thought as he tapped his foot in the dusty floor. "What's taking you so long?" he finally asked.

"You…try…gah! To… get dressed… Ouch… in at least five different layers of… clothing… and at least six different kinds of female torture devices… THEN can you ask what's keeping me! OUCH!"

"Aren't you finished yet?"

"NOT YET! This… oh… stupid piece of… ugh! Won't do what I want it to! God…"

"HEY! Watch it! This is church!"

"BITE ME!"

"Well… okay, sense you asked…"

"GAH! No! I take it back!"

"You ready NOW?"

"Yeah, yeah… I'm finished" she replied as she walked back over to him, she was dressed in a dark burgundy floor length dress that consisted of a girdle, hoop skirt, floor length T-tunic, two under skirts, shoes, garters, and then the very burgundy dress itself.

Duo let out a long slow whistle. "How is it that you can even walk in that thing?"

"Sometimes I wonder that myself… you ready to go?"

"You bet!" Duo exclaimed as they ducked out of the opening leading into the church without being seen and made their way down the street.

"We'll need to get some horses, I seriously doubt that a fine outstanding man such as you my lordship would be WALKING to the castle" Fiora said with a laugh.

"And just where do we get horses? In case you haven't noticed, I'm BROKE here!" Duo all but yelled.

Fiora just waved her hand in the air as if to brush his words aside. "Duo the Street urchin might be broke, but not Sir Maxwell!" she said with a mischievous grin as she tossed a rather large leather pouch into his hands.

"Hey… you don't mean…"

Fiora only nodded, her grin turning into an all out smile.

"But this isn't mine…"

"They don't know that! Once my dad's ship leaves port I'll be earning more of that gold, and besides that, I ain't got anything better to spend it all on anyways!"

Duo looked at her for a moment, unsure whether she was just joking or not, then all but ripped the pouch open and peered into to see what it held within. "Oh my God! Would you look at this! There must be a small fortune in this thing!" He exclaimed.

"Shhh! Could you tone it down? The last thing you want is for the other thieves to know what you got! What with all this fancy clothing on we're already a target for them!" Fiora said as she glanced around nervously, trying to see if anyone heard, and even took any notice of her wolf in sheep's clothing (in other words, Duo dressed as an Earl).

"Oops… Sorry about that" Duo said quietly as he tucked the pouch of gold into the front of his T-tunic and out of his fellow street urchin's grasps.

"Don't worry about it, look there's a guy at town that sells horses, lets go there first"

"Sounds like a plan to me!"

"Good, cause that's just what it is!" Fiora laughed as they started off.

*****

Word arrived that morning that there was to be a calibration at the Cinq palace in a few days, in honor of the new treaty between the Cinq kingdom and China, and all of Cinq's allies were invited.

Quatre was sitting on his throne, rereading and contemplating whether or not the kindhearted, and shy Princess Jasmine and he should go.

"Quatre? Is something the wrong?" Jasmine said when she entered the throne room, having been retrieved moments ago by Abdul. Quatre had asked him to bring the lovely Jasmine to speak with him.

"Huh? Oh no! Nothing is wrong, I just wanted to ask you something, that's all Jasmine" he replied, snapping out of his thoughts and focusing on the woman in front of him.

"Really? What is it that you wanted to ask me Quatre?"

"King Milliardo is holding a party in a few days from now, in honor of their new treaty with China, and has asked that I come and join in the festivities, and I was wondering, if it wouldn't trouble you that is, you would care to join me?" he asked with a slightly embarrassed smile on his face.

"I would love to come, when should we leave?"

"If we travel by carriage, and we don't stop along the way, if we leave by morning light tomorrow we would make it the day before that actual party begins" he replied, doing some quick calculations in his head.

"Wonderful! I can hardly wait!"

"King Quatre!" Amid called as he ran into the throne room.

"Yes? Is there something wrong?" He asked as he stood up quickly and rushed over to him.

"There is a man outside wishing to speak with you, he says his name is Sir Maxwell" Amid replied. (Most of the people that are called Lords are usually either men born into a high ranking or are knighted, the knighted ones are also called Sir. Some of them are also Earls, who only take orders from the king)

"Sir Maxwell? I don't know anyone by that name, I did meet a Maxwell once, but could he really be the same as this Sir Maxwell?"

"Quatre, isn't the name Maxwell very common name?" Jasmine asked.

"Ordinarily yes, but my friend was far from just your average fellow that you would meet on the streets, no, he was far different then anyone else I have ever met" he replied thoughtfully.

"King Quatre, what should we tell him?" Amid asked.

"Tell him that I'll speak with him in the court yard, but keep an eye on him, I'm not sure if we can trust him yet"

"Yes your Majesty" Amid, replied as he bowed and hurried out of the throne room.

"Well Princess Jasmine? Take to join me?" he questioned as he turned to look at her, offering her his arm with a smile.

"Yes, of course, I would love to" Jasmine replied, no longer quite as shy with him as when they first met.

They exchanged looks at each other as they smiled and made their way down the maze of corridors, hallways, rooms, and stairs to the courtyard, Where Sir Maxwell and Lady Eleri awaited on horse back for the new king.

______________________________________________________________________________

Woohoo! I know, I know, long time no updates! Ugh! I was just having so much trouble with this one! But good new! I've almost got them all together! YES! *Does a little dance* hope you like! Send all stuffs that you want to say to me at FioraEmbyr@aol.com later!


	8. Surprises of good and bad

**__**

What if Myth

By Prinder

A gundam wing fan fiction

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations and POSSIBLY some suggestive dialog

Summery: a 'what if' story. What if the gundam pilots were living in a fantasy world, with myth, magic, mystery and monsters. This is what I think their lives would be like.

Notes: this is a non-yaoi, AU, action/romance story

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first. Thank you!

Keys:

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 8

"Maxwell! I was hoping that it was you!" Exclaimed the platinum blonde youth as he embraced his longhaired friend in a warm hug that all but knocked the braided boy over.

"Hey, Prince Quatre, it's been a long time, eh?" Duo's voice gasped out as his lungs slowly ran out of air.

"…Oh! Dear me, I'm sorry" Quatre chuckled as he released his friend from what had become a rather strong chokehold.

"Ah! Not a problem! Don't worry about it!" Duo replied as he swallowed air as quickly as possible for what would be the second time that day.

Fiora sat sidesaddle on an all white horse snickering at the scene before her.

"Oh dear, it appears that I've embarrassed you in front of thy Lady, Maxwell" Quatre said, sounding genuinely sorry for what happened.

"Oh! I forgot! Prince, no wait! KING Quatre, this is Lady Fiora. Lady this is King Quatre, the good friend that I told you about" Duo said with a low bow to Quatre and a hand to Fiora to help her off of her horse.

"Actually, I haven't been crowned yet, so I am, technically, still a prince" Quatre said, trying to be humble.

Fiora cleared her throat as she covered her mouth delicately with the side of her hand as she pretended to compose herself before bowing slowly onto her knees before rising up once again with a small smile spread across her face as she said, "It's an honor your Majesty, truly it is" and bowed once again.

"Please, no need for formalities here, I'd like you both to meet my dear friend, and perhaps more, Princess Jasmine, of the Green Isles" Quatre said as he motioned Jasmine forward with his hand on hers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, Earl Maxwell, Lady Fiora," she said quietly, almost in a whisper.

"Please! The pleasure is all ours Princess!" Duo said and he took Jasmine's hand and gave it a soft, feather light kiss. 

Quatre, after conversing with them some more, ushered his friends into the throne room and out of the noonday sun's blistering heat.

"Earl, what brings you here after so long? I don't think I've seen you in forever!" Quatre asked, once they had all settled in.

"When I heard that your dad had died so suddenly, I left at once to get here. I know that you really must need a friend right now and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help you" Duo replied with a bight and contagious smile that spread like a wild fire to the others.

"You're too kind, thank you, Maxwell" Quatre said with a teary smile upon his face.

"Your Majesty, just call me Duo, we are friends after all" Duo said as he flipped his braid off of his shoulder.

"Yes, of course Duo, and I would greatly appreciate it if you called me Quatre" he replied, smiling happily.

"Quatre and I were going to be traveling to the Cinq Kingdom for a party at the castle. Would you two like to join us? I'm sure that you, Duo, and Quatre would love to have time to catch up," Jasmine said with a gentle expression on her face.

"Well, I really don't think that we could…" Fiora said.

"We would love to join you!" Duo said, cutting Fiora off.

"Wonderful! I'm afraid that if we are to make it on time, we will have to leave by early morning, that's not a problem, right?" Quatre asked, unsure of him self.

"Well actually…" Fiora started again.

"No! Not a problem at all! We'll be ready whenever you are!" Duo said, once again cutting Fiora's sentence short.

'Damned moron won't let me finish! I have to stay here or my Dad's ship could leave without me! And if that happens…oh great! Now I'm worrying! I'm not supposed to worry! …It's him! He's the one making me do this! It's all his fault! Payback is most defiantly called for! What the hell is wrong with me? I should've been long gone by now, just give him the clothes and be off! But NO! I just HAD to get mixed up in all of this! Damn my bad luck! Why me?' Fiora thought as she fought the urge to kick Duo and herself.

*****

The agreement was, to Wong's joy, that she and Wufei stay in the Cinq Kingdom, to unsure that all trades go well, and that, if need be, a translator for both Chinese and English could be found without having to worry weather or not the merchants had brought one along. This also pleased Wufei, although he never admitted it, he had also grown to have more then just a slight loathing for the sea and it's ships. And so it came to pass that they would stay in the courts of King Milliardo and represent their own land of the east.

And so the boredom had set in and Wufei found himself wandering the castle grounds, missing his books for, while he could speak English, he could not read it half as well as his own language.

"Master Wufei?" Wong, apparently, had decided to take it upon herself to wake the young master out of his trance.

"Hum?"

"King Milliardo summons us, he has informed me that there are honored guests that he invited here, to celebrate the treaty, that they would wish our presence in the throne room" She replied with a bow. They strangely didn't seem to fight quite as often as they used to, weather that was because of the feeling of being so out of place, or the works of a lovely Chinese ghost, Wufei couldn't tell for certain.

"Master Wufei, is there something troubling you?" Wong questioned when she didn't obtain an answer from her enquiry.

"It doesn't concern you"

"Very well Master Wufei, but we must leave now"

"Fine" he said as he abruptly stood up and strode swiftly to the throne room.

'He is harboring far too many secrets, it will cause ill-health if be does not let them go' she thought as she followed slowly behind.

"Miss Wong, Why do you seem so sad?" Princess Relena said, distracting her from her thoughts.

"It is nothing, I only fear that my master Wufei isn't well, something is troubling him, and yet he refuses to say what… I worry that I can't help him, I promised his wife that I would, and now I find that I cannot do that unless he tells me what ills him" Wong replied, looking down at her hands, hopelessly.

"The question is weather or not he is really troubled, there is always the possibility that he is feeling lost and confused over all that has happened lately" Relena said as she set a comforting hand on Wong's shoulder.

"Yes, yes, you could be very right, but I am still very concerned by this, he does not act this way, he seems so distant, I can't even begin to understand the look upon his face. He was troubled over Meiran; I know this for I heard him cry her name while we were out at sea, during a most horrible storm… I cannot help but wonder, if that has something to do with it" Wong said with a sigh.

"Meiran?" Relena asked as they continued to walk to the throne room.

"She was his wife, the house of Chang was attacked by a rival house, she rushed to defend it, while he was away, by the time he returned… it was too late to save her, she died in his arms…"

"Oh no, I'm sorry! I had no idea…" Relena trailed off, her eyes glazed with salty tears from hearing about his tragic past.

"It could not be helped, I thank you for listening, there are not many from where I come that would listen to a woman, let alone a servant, and for that I thank you" Wong said with a bow before they entered the throne room and were greeted by jugglers, animal tamers, acrobats and…

"Heero…"

*****

A cheery melody, played by mainly flutes, harps and hand drums, filled the room, which was elegantly decorated with banners, streamers, flowers and expensive fabrics, and set the mood for the evening.

Having finished their show for the night, Trowa and Catherine set themselves to enjoy the festivities that only the fortunate rich could afford otherwise.

Felina was leading a large line of nobles in a fairy dance, adding her own magical touch to the festivities.

As for Heero, he was a different story. He was tucked safely away from the bright torch and hearth firelight, deep within a far corner of the room, where he had thought that he was safe from being known by anyone. Or so he thought.

"Heero…"

His head snapped up when his name was uttered so loudly, and under his breath he swore that he would skin whoever said it aloud, and directed his attention to where the voice had originated and promptly let his jaw fall no more then just an inch, but that was enough to disclose his state of surprise to the one who had caught his eye.

She could have been floating, her steps were so light, as she glided over to him, and a tender smile graced her sweet looking lips as her eye twinkled. 

'Is it the fire casting it's light into those lovely sky blue depths or was it more? Something more magical then just the enchanted glow from the hearth?' Heero caught himself thinking and promptly shook the thoughts away.

"Heero… is this what you meant by not having any choice?" She asked, barely above a whisper, so that only he could hear.

If he heard, he didn't reply for he only turned away from her and looked out onto the dancing floor. Watching how his cousin danced so freely in the tall human acrobat's arms.

"Heero…?" Relena called to him softly, surprising him so that he turned his head to face her.

"Who is that that you watching, is she a friend of yours?" she asked.

"…Nothing… it's… my cousin" he replied.

"Is she a…"

"Dryad? Yeah." Heero finished her question for her.

"Heero?"

"Hum?"

"Would you dance with me?"

Heero was stunned for a moment, but when Relena raised her hand to him, he accepted it and led her out onto the floor.

Whispers ensued throughout the room as they came to the center of the dance floor, which had been cleared as people stopped dancing and made way for the princess and her dancing partner for what would be her first dance since she first fell ill those many weeks ago.

"Heero, calm down, no one is going to hurt you" Relena whispered in his ear as the music started up again and they began to move across the dance floor.

Heero stopped glancing around at everything that moved and looked down at her but for an instance before snapping his eyes away and continuing with his nervous glancing about the room.

'He's just so wild, so untamed, oh Heero, what have people done to you to warrant this kind of unease?' she thought with a sigh as she rested her head upon his shoulder, making him jump ever so slightly with the contact. She sighed once more and closed her eyes, letting him lead her about the floor in somewhat of a self-induced trance.

"Quatre, is that her?" the raven-haired princess whispered to the young soon-to-be king.

"That's her all right, I wonder who she's dancing with though…" He replied.

"You don't know him?"

"No, I don't"  


"She looks so happy" Jasmine exclaimed softly.

"Ha! He looks like he's about to have a heart attack…" a small brown haired lady remarked with a loud snicker.

"Hush!" someone whispered not far behind them.

"Hush? Why you…!" she snarled as she turned to face the one who dared to try to shut her up.

"Lady Fiora, do you really think so?" Quatre asked, distracting her from the "hush-er".

"You bet I do, look at him, he's as stiff as a board! If his muscles got any tighter, I would think that he was more a suit of armor then a man!"

"Hush!"  


"Oh go take a long walk of a short pier!" Fiora whispered angrily.

Duo just about gagged on his wine when he almost laughed with a mouthful of it just starting on its way down his throat.

"Duo, are you all right my friend?" Quatre asked as he patted his friend's back firmly.

Duo could only nod in reply.

"I think you need to back off of the wine for a while Duo" Fiora said as she took the goblet from his grasp.

"Madam, if you do not cease and desist with your bad manners towards the princess, I will have you removed from this party at once, and by force if need be!" it was the "hush-er" again. 

Fiora tightened her hands and balled them into fists, ready to punch the lowlife, when suddenly! A thunderous BOOM! Sounded, followed by a large shock wave that shook the room and all of its occupants.

The castle was under attack!

______________________________________________________________________________

Okay, okay, so that was a really, REALLY short chapter, but give me a brake! I haven't worked on this fic in like, FOREVER and I needed to get the plot going! Well… how to you all like cliffhangers? Lol! ^_^; feel free to e-mail me at FioraEmbyr@aol.com chio!


	9. Magical travels and Mischevious deeds

**__**

What if: Myth

By Rachel

A gundam wing fan fiction

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations and POSSIBLY some suggestive dialog.

Notes: this is a non-yaoi, AU, action/romance story, Possible OOC.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first. Thank you!

Keys:

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 9

Time stood still for only but a moment as everyone held a collective breath and let reality seep in. It was right about then that everyone, be they lord, lady or servant, rushed about every which way. That is, all except a select few.

King Milliardo, with his wife right behind him, rushed over to his little sister and, hurriedly, escorted her to a safe place, all the while telling her "It's not safe! Please, you have to stay here; it's the only way! Lucrezia will be there with you! I have to lead my men! Go!" and with a final push in the right direction, he turned around, and at the top of his lungs he shouted above the crowd "Everyone! HOLD!"

'And to think that he actually thought that that would work' Fiora thought with a laugh as she slinked unnoticed into the servants quarters.

Milliardo let out a loud battle cry and ripped his sword from the wall and went to fend off the attack.

Those that weren't running around shared a look between themselves before taking off after him. With feet seemingly light as feathers, they ran out into the courtyard, and into a battlefield like no other. King Milliardo's men lay scattered upon the bloodied ground and more of the offending army continued to flood in through a large gaping hole in the side of the castle gates.

Quatre, at once realizing the danger, took the Princess Jasmine and, after being ordered by Wufei, Wong through the hidden doorway in which Princess Relena had been lead to. Felina refused to go with them, saying that she wanted to help.

Fiora, meanwhile, had just crept out of the servants quarters, dressed once again in mans garments, which consisted of a dark blue vest, a puff sleeved red shirt, with strings that laced up to the low collar. Puffy bleachers, and worn, knee high, lace up, boots.

"Play time…" Fiora snickered as she walked over to a window and slowly climbed out of it and down the castle walls.

Down below, Trowa had told Cathy to guard the princesses as he grabbed a crossbow from a fallen soldier and was now using a rather large chunk of debris as a shield while he showered the oncoming soldiers with arrows.

Wufei was busy taking them out one-by-one with his bare hands, shocking everyone with his quick reflexes and skill.

Heero and Felina were taking a different approach. They made their way up to the guard tower and were now unleashing their magic onto the enemies outside of the gates below.

'Hey, Where's Duo?' Fiora thought as she looked around for the thin, longhaired, street rat.

And as if on cue, Duo jumped out of the shadows, wielding a scythe over his head, and chopped down a man from behind on one fatal swoop.

"Damn! Street kid know how to fight after all…" Fiora exclaimed with a whistle as she finally touched ground.

Things were starting to look up for King Peacecraft and his men, but that was all too soon to change for the battle had taken a turn for the worst when suddenly, another wave of men came charging down the hillside behind the castle and broke though in a matter of moments!

Prince Quatre could hear the men braking in as he, along with the maiden Catherine and Ambassador Wong, watched the doorway into the hidden room for the slightest hint of them being found.

"If they find this place I see no use in trying to defend ourselves, we would be hideously out numbered" Wong said as she seated herself back onto the floor once they had passed.

"Maybe so, but we can't just give up. The others are still out there fighting for us, if we were to just give up now, all of their fighting would be in vain" Quatre replied softly as he sheathed his sword.

"Do you think that they'll be okay, Prince Quatre?" Catherine asked, worried about her friends and her adopted younger brother.

"I, I don't know, Lady Catherine, I don't know" he replied sadly.

The room fell into silence once again, and all they could do was wait and look on, hoping against all hope that they all survived this.

As it turned out, the savor of this battle was a little dryad by the name of Felina. In a last ditched effort, she released what all was left of her magic and completely devastated the last of the attacking army in an bright exploding light that left nothing but bare earth in it's wake. She fell to the floor in an unconscious and battered heap.

Fiora stood stock still in shock as she let out a long high pitched whistle and let a slain man slide off of her blade and onto the ground with a sickening THUNK-SQUISH.

The battlefield was quiet but for only an instant before everyone irrupted in cheers! They won!

Heero picked his cousin up off the floor, being mindful of her now tattered and torn human dress, and gingerly carried her from the tower to Trowa, who was waiting to help below.

Upon hearing the cheers, Quatre, Jasmine, Cathy, Lucrezia, and Relena, hurried out to see what all had happened. Wong, complaining that "It doesn't matter if I run or not" and that "Everyone would still be there when I arrive" followed them not far behind, although only saying so because she really couldn't run even though she wanted to.

Fiora took this moment of cheer to creep away; only this time; not only Duo, but also king Peacecraft spotted her.

"Halt!" Milliardo commanded his eyes tuned in on her position.

Fiora smirked as she stopped walking and slowly turned around, "Yes, your all mighty high-nee-ass?" she said, bowing.

King Milliardo's men took offence and action at once, they charged at her, and with will little difficulty, captured her.

"Oh… you have NO idea how sorry I'm going to make you for doing this! Ugh! Let me GO!" Fiora struggled.

"That's a pretty bold statement for a DEAD MAN!" one of him men replied.

"Yeah well, what can I say? Other then…I AIN'T DONE NOTHIN' TO YOU PEOPLE!" Fiora screamed.

"Hey! Let her go!" Duo yelled as he rushed over and started trying to pull the men off of her.

"Duo? Do you know this man?" Quatre asked as he walked over to his friend.

"You bet I do! His' Fiora!" Duo replied, finally wrenching her away from Milliardo's footmen.

Murmurs of shock and gasps of surprise filled the air.

"A woman? Let me see about this!" Wufei said as he marched on over.

"Yeah that's right pal! A woman! You got a problem with that?" Fiora said, pulling herself out of Duo's firm grip.

Wufei looked at her carefully, looking her all the way around before replying, "She's no woman, she's a pirate!"

More sounds of surprise filled the night sky before Fiora turned around and yelled, "AW SHUT UP!" the noise died down almost at once after that.

"And what brings a pirate to my lands?" Milliardo asked.

"He does!" Fiora said, tilting her head at Duo, "LOOK! I ain't saying that this was my bright idea! Quite frankly, I want outta here, the sooner the better! But SIR Maxwell insisted that I join him, so I pull the old blindfold over his friend's eyes and what do you know? I end up here! Look kingie, I ain't looking for no trouble, at least not here at any rate, and if you think that I had something to do with all this… well THINK AGAIN! I don't know what the hell is going on here, but ya'll saw me! I was fightin' them with ya! Killed a few all on my own too! You can take what I have to say and make whatever you want out of it! Don't believe me for all I care! That's your problem! Not mine!" Fiora replied, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Duo? Is what she saying true?" Quatre asked softly, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Duo could only nod.

King Milliardo cleared his voice, "As touching as this story is, Fiora is still a pirate, and a wanted one too I gather. But in light of her deeds to aid us in this battle, I grant her Immunity in my lands! So let it be known that She, Fiora…" he paused to try and remember her full name.

"Eleri!" Fiora shouted out to him.

"That She, Fiora Eleri, is welcome in my courts"

"Thank ya Kingie!"

"Don't push it"  


"Right right! King Milliardo" Fiora laughed as she bowed deeply.

"Now that that is settled. You there! How fairs the Dryad?" Milliardo said, turning to Heero and Trowa.

"Dryad?" Trowa mumbled as he looked down upon Felina's form in his arms.

"She needs rest, and magic, I'll take her home after she is rested" Heero replied, still somewhat insecure around the humans.

"I shall send a some of my men to accompany you, Prince Quatre, if you would do the honor of leading my men"

"I would be delighted your majesty"

"Sir Maxwell, you have proven to be worthy of your title, you shall join him" 

"Yeah? No sweat!" Duo replied.

"Ambassador Wufei, I would very much like you to join them"

"Your majesty! I must object! If Master Wufei goes I must follow!" Wong said.

"I accept" Wufei said to Milliardo, ignoring Wong completely.

"I want to come with…" Trowa said suddenly.  


"Trowa!" Cathy said, shocked.

"Very well, you four shall accompany the Dryads to their destination"

"Heero…" Relena whispered as she stared out at him with eyes filled with sadness and worry.

'What if he never comes back?' Relena asked herself, watching the steam and smoke distorted her vision of him in the starless night air. Fear creeping it's way into her bones.

"Milliardo, I want to go with!" Relena spoke up.

"WHAT? Relena! You are a Princess!"

"I don't care! I want to help; I'm tired of sitting back and watching people live my life for me! Please! Let me do this!" Relena argued.

"Impossible! Relena, I can't allow you! If anything happened to you…" Milliardo started to say.

"Your majesty, I will go with her and take it upon myself to insure her safety" Wong said, cutting him off.

"You most certainly will not be going woman!" Wufei firmly, glaring at her until she relented silently to his words.

*****

With the subject settled and the conversation over with, everyone who was not staying at the castle went home. Leaving our young adventures and the king and queen, for the most part, to themselves.

"Trowa, are you sure you want to do this? What if something happens to you? It's dangerous out there all alone!" Catherine was clearly fearful for her brother's safety.

"Don't worry, I'll come back… this is something that I feel that I must do" he replied in his ever-calm way.

"I understand. But please be careful out there Trowa!" Cathy begged.

"I will"

And with that Cathy and Trowa parted ways for the first time since they first met, and hopefully, it wouldn't be their last.

*****

"Master Wufei, I said that I am coming with you!"

"You are not Wong, and that is an order!"

"Master Wufei, please! See reason here!"

"No! You see reason! I will not be having you gallivanting all over creation, following me like a lost puppy! Woman!"

"I cannot just simply stand by and watch you go! I have already lost Meiran because I did as I was told, I will not lose you the same way!"

"Do not speak about my wife in that manner woman, or so help me I'll…"

"You will do what? Strike me down? Only cowards and weaklings dare to beat a mere woman"

"You will stay here!"

"I will not! Command me all you like, strike me down if you must, but I will not stay here knowing full well of what dangers await you out there! I can't do that Master Wufei!"

This continued on long into the night, fortunately, no one was close enough to their rooms to hear them.

*****

"Must you go Quatre?"

"I must, I'm sorry that I have to do this, but I was asked by a king, and a good friend of my father, I can't refuse"

"I know, I just wish that there were some other way, with all of the bandits, thieves, and countless other evils out there, I just know that I won't be able to sleep well until you are back, and safely in my arms again"

"Oh Jasmine, I promise, nothing will happen to us, we'll be back before you know it" he replied sadly as he kissed her before continuing with packing the things that he thought that he would need, only this time, Jasmine busied herself with helping him silently.

*****

She woke up slowly, only letting her eyes flutter open at first before sitting up and looking around the room she was in, her eyes landing on a masculine form framed by the moonlight.

"Heero" she chirped.

"You're awake," he stated tonelessly as he turned around to face her.

"Uh hum! Yep! And as soon as I get my magic back, I'll be as good as new" she replied cheerfully.

"We'll leave in the morning"

"Okie-dokie!" she said, trying to hide her disappointment in having to leave so soon.

"Hun" he said, turning his attention back to the window.

Felina snuggled under the sheets and curled back up in the human bed and went back to sleep.

*****

"OH NO! I don't think so! Forget it! I've already done more then enough! Uh, uh no way! Give it up Duo Maxwell I ain't going!"

"But…"

"No! N…O… NO! What part of NO don't you understand? I'm not helping and that's that! I'm going back to my father's ship and I'm getting the hell away from you people before you come up with some new idea to get me hanged!"

"But I…"

"No buts! Keep my butt out of this! I want nothing to do with it!"

"I just thought that…"

"NO! The answer is NO!"

"I really think that we could…"

"What does it take for me to get through to you? My answer is NO!"

"They need your help, I need you…"

"Why am I even arguing with you? Ain't nothing here that's keeping me! I'm gone! Get yourself a new sidekick! I want nothing to do with you pal!"

"PLEASE?"

Fiora had barely touched the door handle before stopping and letting out a sigh. "…Fine, I'll go, but in my own way, I'll be there, but I gotta get some things together first…"

Duo could only cheer as she opened the door and left his room.

*****

"Heero…" she sighed as she looked out the window.

"If ya want to come so much, why don't you listen to my little plan and tell me what you think"

Relena spun around and came face to face with the little pirate girl.

"Whatever do you mean?" Relena stammered.

"I'm gonna pretend that you didn't say that and that you already know exactly what I mean… care to hear me out?"

"…Alright"

*****

"I see, so you want to disguise me as a commoner of these parts, tie me inside a smelly sack, and let the servants toss me out with the trash?" Wong said, clearly disgusted by the girl's suggestion.

"…You say that like it's a bad thing!" she laughed.

"And I suppose that I am not the only one that you are going to be putting this through?"

"Oh no! I would NEVER dream of making you do all that ALONE!"

"Sure you wouldn't… Who else is joining us?"

*****

"What if we can't catch up with them in time? Or what if we lose our way? Or what if…"

"What if this, what if that! Jeez! You are such a worrier! Relax! I have everything under control! Don't you trust me?"

"…"

"Never mind… don't answer that!"

______________________________________________________________________________

What on earth is Fiora up to? And why does she need to sneak Wong, Relena, and Jasmine out to do it? What will the guys think of all this? The plot thickens! Okay… I know the fight scene sucks, but this is my first adventure fic! What do you want with me? ^_^; please read and review my E-mail is FioraEmbyr@aol.com thanks!


	10. Foolish trickery

**__**

What if Myth

By Prinder

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first. Thank you!

Keys:

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 10

"Ugh! It smells! Where did you get this… this…THING? It wreaks like a urine pot that hasn't been touched in a week!" Wong exclaimed as she pinched her nose and held the bit of cloth that was the source of the offending odor (Urine pots were things that people had inside the house for when they had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, they usually emptied them in the morning to get rid of the stink).

"… Believe me when I tell you that you don't wanna know" Fiora replied with a snicker.

"Is this absolutely necessary Lady Fiora?" Relena asked as she held her ratty skirt and apron away from her legs gently, not being used to not wearing hoops under it.

"Okay, first of all, don't call me a lady, cause I'm not. Secondly, it's all part of the disguise! Who in their right mind would believe that two princesses and a high lady would walk around looking and smelling like gutter trash?" Fiora laughed.

"But Fiora, you aren't dressed like us at the moment, and don't smell in anyway as foul as this, as far as I can tell. So if you can get along, then why can't we?" Jasmine asked, slightly concerned.

"Cause I'm dressed as a MAN! I didn't think that you would want to be dressed like me. So I came up with the next best thing! And jeez! Could ya BE any louder? Or do you want to wake up the whole castle?" she replied, slightly annoyed that they were stalling so mush.

"Humph! It would almost be better it we did, just so long as I don't feel like I'm going to be ill with the scent of this thing under my nose for who knows how long!" Wong hissed.

"Oh is that so? You think you can pull it off huh? Okay, ya'll hang around here for a while longer while I get your new outfits ready" Fiora said with a slightly triumphant smirk as she turned on her heels and rushed out of the room.

"…We've been had, haven't we?" Relena asked to no one in particular.

The other two could only nod in reply.

*****

"…Do you really think this is a good idea Milliardo?" a man's voice asked by the firelight, his shadow cast across the room.

"I don't see any reason why it wouldn't" came Milliardo's reply.

Fiora was tiptoeing through the shadows just outside the room when she overheard what the two men were saying she stopped to listen in.

"You're taking quite a risk sending all of them, when only just today you discovered that you have enemies, dangerous ones at that. Even with all of your men fighting, you know wouldn't have won had those kids not been there," the man said calmly.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?" Milliardo shouted, followed by the squeaking/scraping noise of his chair being moved, possibly to stand up. Milliardo signed, "You think I don't know that? That we would have surely lost if they weren't there today? I won't even dare to think of what would have happened to my beloved sister and my wife had I been killed. Traize, do you have any idea at all on who it could be that sent the attack?"

"Not a one. But Milliardo, what makes you so sure it's safe to send them all off, from what I've seen, the dryads can take care of themselves, without the aid of humans"

"There is something about those young warriors that I'm not seeing, something that no one can explain. What worries me most is that my little sister is falling in love with that dryad boy, and everyone knows that it would never work, not only is she a princess, and therefore will end up being bound to a pre-decided marriage, but it is rumored to be that a dryad cannot survive for long out in the human world once it has run out of magic"

"Getting a little over protective of her are you Zechs?"

"Don't call me that here, that is the name of a murderer"

"You know as well as I do that you can hide the truth from others, but you can't hide it from yourself Milliardo, the price you paid for revenge is costing you more then you would ever admit"

"Unlike you, I must rule a pacifist nation, Traize, how do you think the people would react if they knew?"

"Most likely there would be fear, possibly some of them might try to overthrow you. But Milliardo, you know just as well as I do that you hate being king, so why is it that you…"

Fiora, deciding that there wasn't anything else worth listening to, moved on.

"…Do you think that she'll say anything?" Milliardo asked suddenly.

"That all will depend on what she heard, and what her true intentions are" Traize replied.

"Hum… I've granted her safety here, I don't think that she would be so foolish as to risk me taking that away"

"Is she really as Wufei said?"

"As far as I can tell, yes… which leads me to wonder, why is she up and about at this hour?"

"The same could be asked of yourself"

"I know that, perhaps it has more to with the 'what' then the 'why'"

"I don't get it, what would she be doing at this time of night? …Or should I say, morning" Traize said, motioning at the window, the sun was just starting to peak from behind the mountains in the east.

"Not would, could is more like it. What could she be doing?"

"It doesn't matter, we most likely will never find out until it's too late, she's probably going to take a different rout back to where ever she came from and avoid us completely"

Milliardo nodded in agreement, half listening, half not as he watched the sunrise and a new day begin.

*****

"Now guys, remember, you have to say perfectly quiet, no matter what, okay?" Fiora said, now that they were all changed into mans garments.

"Easier said then done, you aren't the one that they will be tossing around like a rag doll" Relena commented as Fiora tided her sack shut and set her on the bandwagon with the others.

"Just relax! I'll pick you up just as soon as they finish dumping the rest of the junk and we'll get going" Fiora said a little too calmly for their tastes.

"… This had better work Fiora, or I'll…" Wong was cut off.

"Oh don't worry! It'll work! Don't you trust me?"

"NO!" all of them shouted at once, they had heard nothing but that the whole time she had been helping them and they were getting fed up with it.

"Okay! Okay! I can take a hint! Jeez!" Fiora laughed as she loaded the last one on the bandwagon and walked over to the guy that would be manning the horses and said, "Okay Mac! It's all ready, so and be sure to hit a few more bumps along the way then usual, I think some of that stuff is starting to grow!"

"Sure thing boss! Giddy up!" he shouted to his horses as he galloped off, unknowingly, taking two princesses and the ambassador with him.

Fiora snickered loudly to herself as she saddled up her horse, grabbed a rope that was tied to the reins to four other horses, and followed them not far behind. And with a mischievous glint in her eyes, thought, 'Let the games begin'

*****

"Is everyone ready to go?" Quatre asked as he swung one of his legs over the saddle upon his horse and hooked it in the stirrup on the other side.

"Wee! Look Heero, we get to ride like around like humans do!" Felina said joyfully, bouncing lightly on her saddle, shaking the reins slightly as she did so.

"Hn" Heero, clearly, wasn't as impressed as his cousin.

"I'm ready" Trowa said, being the only one to answer Quatre's question. Wufei pretended to be ignoring everything as he waited impatiently for the others in front of the drawbridge.

"Be careful, all of you. No unnecessary risks, okay? And that goes double for you Trowa!" Catherine scalded him playfully.

"We will Lady Catherine, I'm just surprised that you were the only one to see us off, I felt for sure that at least Jasmine would have come down to see us go" Quatre said reassuringly.

"I know, it's so weird, nobody has even seen any of them get up this morning. I can't say that I don't blame them, after the attack and what with being stuffed into that tiny secret room. They must be going through a great deal of shock at the moment" Cathy murmured softly, almost thinking aloud rather then speaking to the others.

Wufei snorted. "Weakling females…" he muttered.

Cathy suppressed a glare at him before turning to the others and once again bidding her goodbyes before watching them head off into the great unknown.

"…How far away is…where ever is it that you need to get to?" Quatre asked as they road along at a comfortable pace.

"Oh it's not far! It shouldn't take us more then a day, two days at most" Felina replied.

"When we get there, I want you all to stay away, the entrance is well hidden by magic and is most likely dangerous to humans. I have seen some that have stumbled upon it and drop dead upon touching the gateway," Heero explained.

"Humph, foolish trickery" Wufei remarked.

"Why keep it so well hidden?" Quatre asked.

"Have you seen how most Humans treat we fairies? All they ever do is try to find the fastest way to catch us and lock us away! Heero was caught when he was little once and…" Felina stopped when she saw the warning glare that Heero sent her way.

"And?" Trowa prompted.

"I can't say, sorry" Felina replied quickly.

"It just seems so unfair that our two worlds, which seem so much alike, must live isolated from each other!" Quatre cried.

Felina nodded in agreement. "I like it here, the human world might not have fairy dust and enchanted symbols, but there is a magic like no other out here, somewhere! That's why Heero and I aren't still in the fairy mound. I want so see your human magic someday," Felina said as her eyes took on a dreamy like haze.

"Nonsense! There is no such thing!" Wufei barked.

"Yes there is, I've seen it, I know it's here, you are forgetting about the wizards and sorcerers of your world, healers also carry with them a lesser form of human magic" Heero replied calmly, though, one couldn't fail to notice his glaring at the Chinese man.

"Ha! Tricksters and conmen! The whole lot of them!" Wufei growled back.

"Why are you looking for this 'human magic'?" Quatre asked politely.

"There is a legend that here, among humans, lie children, children born of a gift that they themselves don't know about. We want to find them and that is why we're looking" Felina replied.

"How will you know weather you've found them or not?" Trowa asked.

"Because we are also part of the legend. Twin cousins, born in the moor of fairy blood fair, but of no parents are gifted to. Destined to meet of human eight, noble, humble, kindred, kind. Three of Kings blood, one with a nameless face, one an earth bound demon, another a curse to the human race, two from the land of the sunrise. All shall these be keepers of the gates into Mystic, the land of the forgotten isles" Heero recited the fairy legend, stumping everyone with it's riddle-like quality, fairies had a knack for making the best riddles to keep humans from learning their secrets if they, by chance, stumbled upon a fairy book of texts.

"How do you know that it's you that it's talking about?" Wufei asked.

"Cause we look almost exactly alike and there is a strange mystery of our birth, we weren't born like most, it was like we just simply WERE one day… we were taken in by our king and he raised us as his own, but know one, fairy and human alike, knows how we came to be. It's one of the fairies greatest riddles!" Felina chimed in.

It wasn't until Trowa looked up into the sky that everyone realized just how quickly the time had passed.

"Lets set up camp here tonight, we'll continue on our journey early tomorrow" Quatre said with a nod as he dismounted his horse, tied it to a nearby tree, and set out to gather some firewood while the others got the rest of the camp ready for the night.

*****

"Hang on! HANG ON! One moment! JEEZ! You'd think that you guys have been in these things for months with the way you're all squirming!" Fiora said, trying to avoid arms and legs that were flying all over inside the sacks as she tried to cut the ropes that held the sacks shut without shish ka bobbing the subjects inside.

"Lets stuff you in a sack, toss you on a wagon, get you kicked off onto the ground and then covered with vile smelling garbage… then we shall see how much you like it" Wong seethed, once everyone was, finally, out of their respective sack and had gotten some, much needed, fresh air.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, man! Come on! You wanted out of the castle, now you're out! So lets get going okay? I ain't got all day!" Fiora said as she clumsily hoisted herself back onto her horse and led the others theirs.

"Oh dear, I just remembered, I only know how to ride side saddle" Relena said as she watched Jasmine and Wong put their feet in the stirrups and swing their other leg on over like it was nothing at all.

"Yeah, well, you're gonna have to learn how to ride like a man!" Fiora laughed as she maneuvered her horse over and extended her hand to Relena to help her up.

"It's not so hard Princess Relena, you just have to remember to kick your right leg up across the back as soon as you put your left in the stirrup" Jasmine reassured her gently.

"Come on! I'll even help ya get up high enough!" Fiora added.

"Alright" Relena said with a nod as she took Fiora's hand and one of her feet into the stirrup before flinging her other leg over the horse's back.

"Well done your highness," Wong said approvingly.

"Now just tuck your foot into the other stirrup and lets get going!" Fiora said as she let Relena go and tossed her the horse's reins.

"Right" Jasmine said with a smile as Relena nodded and they all took off on a fast gallop to try and catch up with the others.

"Fiora, how far ahead of us do you think the others are?" Jasmine asked timidly.

"They'll be taking it slow, and if they're smart, they won't push riding at night, we should catch up to them sometime after sunset, I think… I hope!" Fiora laughed.

"And if we can't find them?" Wong asked.

"Then we can't find them! It's no big deal, they have to come back sometime, and even if we don't catch up with them, what's stopping us from having some fun while we're out here?" Fiora replied.

"I hope we find them… Oh! I hope they're all alright!" Relena worried.

"They're big boys Relena! They can handle themselves! Right now lets worry about ourselves, this ain't the safest place to be right now, out in the wilderness and all, I don't want to be the only one keeping an eye out you know!" Fiora exclaimed.

"Yes, you're right" Jasmine replied.

"And just what happens if we get attacked?" Wong asked.

"Do any of you know how to fight?"

"I was shown some defensive moves…" Jasmine whispered.

"I live in a pacifist kingdom! With exception of our few men guarding our castle, no one knows how to fight!" Relena exclaimed, shocked that Fiora would even suggest such a thing.

"I am not limited in my knowledge of Kung Fu, but my skills as a fighter leave much to be desired" Wong replied.

"…Then I think it's safe to say that we're as good as dead!" Fiora replied, more then just slightly worried.

*****

"…Well, now that everyone is settled in, who wants to take the first watch? Since there are five of us, not counting Felina since she needs her rest, we'll trade shifts every two hours, that is, if that's alright with the rest of you?" Quatre asked, unsure of him self.

"Good idea, I'll take the first watch" Heero replied.

"Yeah? Then I'll be next" came Duo's reply.

"I'll go after that," Wufei said as he shifted his position on the branch of a tree that he was currently occupying.

"Right, I'll take the one after that and Trowa, you'll take the last shift" Quatre said slightly more confident.

"Right" came Trowa's short, but hardly blunt, reply.

With everyone else tucked into their bedrolls, Heero set about watching the fire and the forest night in the eerie quiet. Tending to the fire to keep his body occupied, for the time being, and his mind free to wander about where ever it wished.

'It's too much of a coincidence, first the sorcerer's attack on the human, pacifist, princess Relena. Then there were the armies storming the castle not long after. There is no way that the two instances are not connected, but the only question is, how are they connected? Something isn't adding up, I need more information…there are still pieces missing to the puzzle' he thought with dismay.

"…Relena…" he hadn't even realized that he said her name aloud, that is until….

"Huh…. What? What did you say?" Duo woke up.

"Nothing…" Heero said as he looked up.

"Nothin' huh? Ha! Whatever! Well, it's time for my shift anyways, you better get some sleep while you still can, we're gonna be mighty busy come tomorrow morning"

Heero just nodded before turning over onto his bedroll and going to sleep.

"Whatever man…I wonder how everyone is doin'" Duo thought aloud as he looked up at the star and tree lined sky.

'She's sure taking her dear sweet time, I wonder what it was that she wanted to get so badly… She could have just ditched me and gone back to her dad's ship, but she said she would come, didn't she? …Never trust a pirate to keep his, or her, word' Duo thought with a frown.

It was just then that a strange rustling noise could be heard just beyond the bushes, within the dark shadows of the forest itself.

"Wha! Who's there?" Duo said, scrambling to his feet and grabbing the scythe that he had found during the last battle and, cautiously, crept over to the bushes. "Come on out, I know you're in there pal! So you just better give yourself up now, save yourself a lot of grief!"

This only caused the bush to stop its movement all at once. The whole forest dropped back into its deadly silence once again.

"Hum, must have scared him off… I sure showed him!" Duo exclaimed with a rather smug look on his face as he puffed up his chest with pride. That didn't last for long because he suddenly felt a hot breath beating down on the back of his neck, causing him to turn many different shades of white as he slowly turned around and let out a blood curdling scream.

Right there before him stood a beast of massive height, standing at about nine feet tall, at least! It had long claws that looked like daggers, jaws that could have crushed iron in one fatal SNAP! It was a werewolf!

Every snapped out of their sleep upon hearing Duo's cries and were at his side with weapons drawn at once.

Heero snatched a piece of wood from the fire and rushed in between the werewolf and the others, waving the makeshift torch around in the air and snarling at the beast in an attempt to scare it away.

The werewolf took a few steps back, for fear of catching its fur on the flames that seemed to be everywhere at once.

Trowa and Duo rushed over to Felina and made sure that she got to a safe place while Quatre, Heero and Wufei took care of the man-beast that had wandered into their camp.

The beast, not wanting to flee and look a coward, lunged at Heero, slashing at the tender flesh of his upper arm under his dear skin shirt, easily braking past the leather barrier and puncturing his skin, successfully making him drop the torch and grasp the wound with shock.

Wufei pulled Heero back just before the werewolf swung at him again. Wufei charged at the beast with his sword in his hand, slashing at the monster at every chance he could get while Duo, who had been told by Trowa that he should help the others and came back, pulled at Heero until he relented and went to Felina and Trowa so that they could tend his wounds.

By the time that Duo got back to Quatre and Wufei, Wufei had already delivered the killing blow to the beast and it now lay on the ground in one bloody mass.

"Oh damn, I'm gonna have nightmares over this one!" Duo exclaimed loudly.

With the tense moment passed, everyone looked at each other, before everyone started laughing at him.

"Well, I hope that's the worst of it, whew! I hope to never see another one of those things ever again" Quatre said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Heero, how are you feeling?" Quatre asked as he walked over to him.

"Fine" was all he got for a reply.

"Lucky he wasn't bitten, though, we dryads aren't affected by Werewolf bites like humans are" Felina chirped.

"You seem better" Duo remarked as he walked over to them and stood next to Quatre.

"Almost" came her reply.

"What should we do with the body?" Quatre asked uneasily.

"Bury it" Trowa replied.

"Can't, it would be to hard to move to bury it at the moment" Wufei said as he climbed back onto his tree branch.

"It'll change back into a human when the sun comes up, we can bury it then" Heero replied tonelessly.

"You mean we've gotta wait until morning before we can get rid of that thing?" Duo exclaimed.

"It's the only way" Heero replied.

"So, you mean we gotta sit around with a dead guy in our camp. SLEEP with him just laying there?" Duo sputtered.

"I agree with Duo, I think we should move on, if one of them came this way, there might be others that pass through here"

"Right" Trowa nodded.

"Duo, put out the fire, Wufei, Heero, help get everything loaded back onto the horses, Trowa, you and I will help Felina back onto her horse, alright?"

"Right!" the others replied, giving their approval.

"alright, lets go!" Quatre said as everyone set off to do their appointed tasks.

*****

"…No question, they were here, and not long ago by the looks of it" Fiora said as she kicked the ashes from the campfire with her foot.

"Master Wufei's blade made these markings, I would know his sword's blade marks anywhere" Wong said as she ran her fingers across a rather deep slash in the Wolf-man's flesh.

"You, you don't think that, that they were, were attacked do you? What if this, this, monster had friends? What if they got them?" Relena cried.

"What? Nah! Look! There aren't any signs of them being dragged off, that means they ether walked off willingly, which I doubt cause they would have had to leave their stuff behind, or they took down this one guy then fled" Fiora replied.

"Are you positive of that Fiora?" Jasmine asked.

"to bet I am! Now come on, they aren't that far ahead, lets hurry and catch up with them!" Fiora said as she climbed back onto her horse and took off down the path.

"Fiora! Wait for us!" Relena said as she road off after her.

Wong jumped back onto her horse and, along with Jasmine, followed not far behind.

Unknown to them, there was a shadow watching them in the forest as they road off, a shadow of a man, a fierce being, a being that was a force to be reckoned with, and would be soon if all went according to destiny's plans for them.

______________________________________________________________________________

Yipes! Who IS this figure in the shadows? And what does he want of our adventurers? Have to wait and see. You know the drill, E-mail me at FioraEmbyr@aol.com chio people!


	11. When good dragons die Or when camp fires...

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations and POSSIBLY some suggestive dialog

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first. Thank you!

Keys:

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 11

Heero hissed softly as Felina replaced the wrappings over his arm wound, they had stopped at a small stream to rest for a few hours before continuing on their journey.

"We're making good progress. If we continue on at this pace, when do you think we'll get to the moor?" Quatre asked Felina once she had secured her cousin's bandages once again.

"We'll make it by night fall, I think. What do you think, Heero?" Felina replied.

"This route isn't the safest for humans, and has many traps made by fairies to keep humans out. I can use my magic to get past them, but there is still the off chance that we might encounter other creatures in this forest long before that time comes"

"Alright then, I want everyone to be on his guard for monsters. Now if we're all set, lets move out!" Quatre said as he stood up and mounted his steed and directed it towards the path as the others did the same, though, Felina and Heero had somewhat of a difficulty because of Heero's injury and Felina's lack of strength at the moment.

Duo lagged behind as he looked back down the way they had just came, thinking 'what is taking her so long? …. She's not coming, give up Duo, never trust a pirate…' before picking up his pace to catch up to the others.

"Duo, is something the matter friend?" Quatre asked.

"Nah! It's nothing…" he trailed off.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Well, lets get a move on, or we'll never make it to that moor- whatever it is- on time!" Duo exclaimed as they all galloped off into the light of the rising sun.

*****

Out of the trees came a rustle as four figures with horses stepped gingerly out of the brush.

"I fail to see the point in hiding like cowards and thieves, weren't we supposed to meet with them?" Wong questioned.

"Yeah, well, maybe so, but do you really think they'll just LET us stay with them? HA! Give me a brake! No way! We'll wait until they need our help, THEN we'll show up. And once they figure out that we just might be of some use to them, they'll be BEGGING us to stay! We just have to wait until the right moment until we strike!" Fiora laughed.

"Why does she make it sound like we're going to be ambushing them instead of helping them?" Jasmine whispered, leaning over to Relena's ear.

"Oh come on you guys! Don't you trust me? …Wait! Don't answer that… I don't wanna know"

"I wonder that myself" Relena whispered back, after hearing Fiora's outburst, as they followed the small troop ahead of them.

*****

"Hold it!"

"Huh? What is it Wufei?" Quatre asked.

"Something is coming"

"Yikes, quick! Unto the bushes!" Duo said as he jumped off his horse and led the others into the brush and out of sight.

"Sounds like hooves beating, horses maybe?" Trowa pondered aloud.

"I'll climb a tree and see if I can spot who it is," Heero said as he reached up to grasp a branch just over his head with his wounded arm and let out a sharp hiss.

"Heero! You can't! Not in that shape!" Felina chirped angrily.

"She's right Heero, it's too dangerous" Quatre added.

"Shhh! Here they come!" Duo hissed at the others, making everyone drop into dead silence right away.

On the trail the sound of the hooves came closer, suddenly one of the horses neighed loudly and started trying to buck off its rider.

"Whoa! Whoa! Damn it! I said WHOA! WHAT THE HELL?" a shrill voice screamed.

Duo's eyes widened in recognition 'Fiora… Well, it sure took her long enough to get here! …Wonder who she's with.' he thought.

"Calm down! Horses can sense your feelings!" a soft, soothing voice said.

"Jasmine!" Quatre gasped softly.

"YOU TRY BEING CALM WHEN YOUR HORSE IS HELL BENT ON KNOCKING YOU OFF!" the shrill voice, now known as Fiora's, replied.

"Try to keep it steady, I'll grab the reins" a slightly deeper, more gravely, but very feminine voice, said.

"What is that woman doing here?" Wufei muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing dangerously at the thought.

"What do you THINK I'm TRYING to DO here? HUH?"

"Lets back away from them, we don't want her horse to accidentally kick one of ours," a slightly lighter, and calmer, voice said.

"Relena…" Heero mouthed, his eyes slightly rounded in surprise.

"Good idea" Jasmine replied.

"Hurry up! I can't keep this bugger still!"

"I've almost…" Wong started growled slowly, trying to keep focus on the task at hand.

"AHHHH OOOOF!" Fiora screamed as she was flung off of the back of her horse as it reared up once last time before galloping off.

"Oh no! Your horse!" Relena shouted as she and her steed charged after it.

Unknown to the others in the brush, Heero slipped deeper into the forest, and with a barely noticeable, yellow, flash, he was gone.

"Are, are you all right?" Jasmine asked as she got off her horse and looked down at Fiora, who lay sprawled out on the forest floor.

"…Remind me NEVER to go horseback riding EVER again," Fiora replied slowly with a slight laugh as she let in a wheezing breath and coughed.

"Perhaps it didn't trust you" Wong said wryly.

"Oh kiss off JinChi!" Fiora snapped, trying to hide the smile behind her voice, clearly showing her amusement with the situation.

"Are you injured at all?" Jasmine asked as she helped Fiora up.

"I'm still breathing, that's just about all I can say" she replied as she dusted off her clothes.

"I wonder what got your horse so scared" Jasmine pondered loudly.

"I wish I knew, come on, we have to get going, we still have to catch those guys before it's too late"

'Ha ha! She doesn't even know that we're here! I'm gonna have some fun with this' Duo thought as he tightened his grip on his scythe in is right hand and quietly gripped a study branch above him with his other.

The other three men in the brush must have had similar thoughts, for they all shared a look into each other's eyes and nodded in silent agreement.

"On thee…" Quatre mouthed to the others, pausing to get everyone else's seal of approval. "…One…two…three!" he mouthed again as they all jumped out of the brush with their weapons drawn upon their four unsuspecting followers.

The four young women, who were, as it turned out, dressed as men, jumped back with surprise, two of which screamed, the other two landing in fighting positions.

Duo didn't waste a second after he jumped out and swung his scythe up, spun it over his head, and brought its curved blade down upon Fiora.

"OH SHIT!" Fiora cursed, the adrenalin kicking in, barely managing to do a diving roll out of its way.

Duo lifted his scythe out of the lose earth and turned to swing at her again.

Fiora, with alarms going off in her head, pulled her sword out of its sheath in time for the next attack and slammed it's blade down onto the scythe's thin wooden handle, cutting it clear in half before twirling around and taking a stab at the wielder himself.

Duo twisted his body out of the way just far enough for the tip of her sword to come slicing through his shirt collar, and into the tree that had seemingly just appeared behind him.

"WAH! I give up!" Duo shouted, raising his hands up to surrender.

"Huh? Wha? DUO YOU IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKIN'? YOU COULDDA BEEN FLAYED!" Fiora screamed, finally realizing who was at the wrong end of her blade.

"Oh my god! QUATRE! You scared us half to death!" Jasmine scolded at him angrily, clutching her chest with her hand right over her heart.

"Wong! I demand to know why you followed us!" Wufei seethed at the young woman.

"Let me ask you this Master Wufei, why not?" She asked she wasn't backing down this time it seemed.

"Because I said so!"

"Well, I am staying and that is that" Wong said firmly with a sharp nod of her head and a turn of her heels as she left him standing there, looking all the world like a fool, alone.

Meanwhile, deeper into the forest, Relena wandered on her horse, still looking for Fiora's runaway steed.

"Here, horsy, horsy, horsy, horsy!" She called.

"Looking for someone?" Heero asked as he stepped out of the shadows, leading Fiora's horse by the reins.

"Heero!" Relena cried as she quickly dismounted and ran over to him, throwing him into a hug.

Heero stiffened and quickly pushed her away, letting go of the reins to guard his injured arm from her touch and gaze.

"Heero, what's wrong?" she gasped, "Oh my god! Heero, you're hurt!"

"No, no I'm not" He replied, stepping away from her.

"That's a lie, I can see it as clear as day! Heero, are you okay?" she said as she took a step closer to him, not realizing that he was backing away.

"I'm fine!" He snapped.

"Let me see it"

"No"

"Heero, please! I want to help you!"

"I said no!"

"Heero, you're still bleeding! I can see the stains through your shirt! Now let me have a look at it!" she cried.

"NO!" he yelled.

She stopped moving, suddenly looking very hurt by his words.

"I'll be fine, I can handle it myself," Heero said, though still in a rather cold tone, it wasn't as icy as it was before.

"Alright" Relena said, defeated.

"Hey guys! Wow! You ACTUALLY caught that thing? Heero, you really are super-human" Duo remarked as he and the others ran over to them.

"He's not a super-human, he's a dryad!" Felina chirped.

"My mistake" Duo replied with a grin.

"Yeah, it seems like you been making a lot of those lately!" Fiora said sarcastically.

"Hardy Har, har Fiora" Duo said, trying to sound at least somewhat hurt.

The others laughed slightly at their antics.

"I'm just glad you all weren't real bandits attacking us," Jasmine said.

"I'm sorry we scared you, I really am" Quatre said, bowing his head shamefully.

"AW forget about it! Ain't no harm been done! Besides, it was kinda funny!" Fiora laughed.

"Humph! I still think that you should all turn back," Wufei grumbled.

"Think what you like master Wufei, but we are staying weather you like it or not!" Wong replied.

"Its better this way, there is safety in numbers," Trowa added.

"Yep! Plus, we just couldn't let you boys go marching around un-chaperoned with a girl all to her lonesome" Fiora snickered as Trowa's ears turned a ever-so-slight shade of pink and Duo coughed on some water that he was drinking out of a wineskin, causing Quatre to have to pat him on the back to get him to swallow properly.

Felina eyed Fiora warily after that, thinking that she was up to something, this only caused Fiora's now permanent grin to widen even more so then what anyone would have deemed possible, making her seem strangely demonic to the others, with exception of Duo, who only laughed at all of this, as if he was the cause of all of it.

It wasn't until nightfall that they reached the opening to the fairy world; they had to stop many a time so that Heero could, literally, work his magic on the enchanted traps and snares that the elder fairies had set.

"You stay here, Felina and I will be back a little later" Heero said in a commanding tone as the others set up camp.

"…As if we're going anywhere! My legs hurt!" Fiora complained as she messaged her legs just above at her knees, trying to sooth the pulsing spasms that were raking through her muscles.

Duo laughed as he attempted to rub her back before she stood up and moved to another rock to sit on, at the farthest end of the camp.

"Weaklings" Wufei snorted.

"You say that once more master Wufei, and you cook your own meals" Wong threatened, knowing that Wufei didn't even know how to boil water, let alone cook anything in it.

"Heero, please, at least let me change your bandage before you go! It's completely soaked through!" Relena begged.

"I'm fine, I'll get healed while Felina gets recharged" Heero replied.

"Take care you two!" Quatre called as Heero and Felina disappeared into the darkness.

"Yes, TAKE CARE!" Jasmine yelled joyously, waving at them as they went.

As the night lingered on, the camp fell into a hushed silence, Trowa, having remembered that he packed his flute in his sack, played a tune for everyone, making Jasmine and Quatre wish they had brought along instruments of their own to play. 

After the song had ended Fiora grabbed a piece of unused firewood and explained that it was part of an old game that she the other pirates played whenever they camped out, it was called the entertainment stick, whoever had it in front of them had to do something to entertain the others until someone else had tired of what he or she was doing and did something else to keep the others happily clapping their hands. Quatre and the others liked this idea and decided to give it go. Fiora decided to go first, seeing as she thought of it, and began to tell them stories of being on a pirate's ship, swashbuckling, and making traitors walk the plank.

Wong grew tired of this however when Fiora mentioned the time she father's ship got caught in a storm that lasted for three weeks straight! Needless to say, Fiora was making Wong feel like she was going to be seasick all over again and decided to end Fiora's story in mid-sentence, which Fiora was surprisingly okay with, and began to tell old stories about Chinese dragons, Wong and Wufei were horrified when Fiora and Duo actually started cheering when they heard that a dragon that was well known, at least to the Chinese, to be good was killed in one of said stories.

Relena however was starting to turn green from all of the blood and gore from all of these stories and asked for Trowa to play a tune while she sang. She sang surprisingly well, her voice an almost perfect compliment to the tone of the flute, though not quite high enough to match the flute's bird-like notes.

Quatre asked for the stick next and he pulled out rather beat up book, perking Wufei's interest at once, and began to read of the Arabian Knights. This kept everyone's attention, that is, until Quatre stopped in the middle of a word, seemingly to read ahead, and started to blush. It was obvious that Quatre hadn't read that book before, otherwise he would have known about the harem and the other various parts to it that weren't what some mothers would have called "wholesome"

Duo was the first to figure out why the story stopped so suddenly and started laughing at his poor ,richly, Prince friend. Fiora soon fallowed him in hooting cries that rose up from her chest like butterflies on a mild summer day. Relena, Jasmine and Wong all turned brilliant shades of red at the very suggestion of those sinful thoughts. Wufei and Trowa simply pitied the man, shaking their heads at him and the others.

Needless to say, when Heero and Felina finally did make it back to the others, they were very surprised, nervous, amused, worried, and not just a little bit scared upon happening upon the scene.

______________________________________________________________________________

LOL! I'm loving this a little too much I think. All I have to say is, POOR QUATRE! I'm almost sorry I did that to him, almost. You know what's coming now, E-mail me at FioraEmbyr@aol.com Yadda yadda yadda… blah blah blah, you get the idea. Chio!


	12. Enemy assisted mass suicide

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations and POSSIBLY some suggestive dialog

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first. Thank you!

Keys:

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 12

"GAHHHHHHHH! Oh man, I am one sore sea monkey!" Fiora yawned.

"Pwa? Sea Monkey?" Felina questioned.

"Humph! About time you woke up" Wong huffed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Gah! No wonder I'm so stiff!" Fiora exclaimed.

"What is it?" Duo asked as he loaded his bedroll back onto his horse.

"I fell asleep with a rock under me!" She laughed as she rolled up her bed sheets.

"Felina, how are you feeling?" Trowa asked, thinking it wise to change the subject before Fiora could start get into another one of her long-winded stories.

"I'm as fit as a fiddle!" Felina chirped in reply, bouncing from one foot to the next excitedly.

"Well, now that everyone is all rested up. Lets say we head back to Cinq?" Quatre asked, looking around at the other men and women in his party.

"Please, lets be off as quickly as possible. We may not have been gone long, but I'm already worried about my brother and his wife, what if that army came back while we all were away?" Relena worried.

"King Milliardo knew the risks of them coming back when he sent the other men with us. It is unlikely that they would attack again so soon." Heero replied.

"Unlikely…HA! I wouldn't put it past them to try it! If it's one thing I've learned on the high seas, it's that you have to expect the unexpected." Fiora exclaimed.

"Then let's hurry, shall we? The sooner we get back the better it will be for King Milliardo." Quatre replied.

"Right, to castle Cinq?" Trowa asked.

"TO CASTLE CINQ!" everyone cheered as they galloped off.

With high hopes, our heroes made their way through the forests. But, as fate would have it, there was still one more twist, one more peril for them to face before they could finally make it back to Princess Relena's beloved Kingdom. After stopping for a quick lunch by a large elm tree, they decided to ride slowly for a bit and enjoy the scenery. It was then that Fiora, once again, happened upon "horse troubles".

"WHAT IN THE HHEL-AAHHHH! Ooof! Ohhhhh…AHHHHH!" Fiora screamed, having been bucked off from the front of her horse this time and very nearly trampled over by her steeds hooves.

"Fiora! Are you okay?" Duo asked, alarmed.

"…That's it… from now on… I WALK!" Fiora said, gasping and grunting as she stood back up.

A few of them laughed at her, some out of pity, some out of spite.

"Hold it, someone is coming." Wufei said, raising his hand to silence everyone, looking down the path behind them, the sound of hoof beats barely heard in the noontime air.

"Everyone, into the trees!" Duo whispered to them as he jumped off his horse and went to hide, the others following not far behind him.

"Are we expecting any other guests to join our party?" Heero asked calmly.

"Not that I know of, and certainly not from that direction." Jasmine replied in a hushed whisper.

Everyone waited in the eerie silence as the hoof beats drew nearer and nearer, and nearer still. Then suddenly, they stopped! The only sound that could be heard now was the sound of men jumping off of their steeds and the clanking of iron pots.

"Ya know what fellas? I still carn't ber'lieve 'dat 'dey won 'dis time, from what 'de mesin'age say'd, 'dey was tak'n all too eas'erly 'dis time 'round" One of the unknown men said in his heavy accent.

"Oy Vay! Ya'ight Mack! Seems j'st a touch too simple, don't it? I mean, who'd ev'a be'lieve it, j'st fifty of ou' weakest men took the whole lot of them, when j'st a few days ago that the'e castle took on two of ou' a'mies and WON!" Another man replied.

"You read the note Mack, did it say anything about them getting Peacecraft?"

Relena covered her mouth and gasped out of shock.

"No. He still at 'arge it seems." Mack replied.

"That's a downe'. Means WE gets to be the ones that get to t'ack the damn bloody sucke' down!"

"Aye, I know. Well, we's best be off!" and with that they got back onto their horses and continued on their way.

"Oh my god! This is terrible!" Relena cried, fearing for her brother's safety.

"Cinq as fallen?" Quatre asked, numb with shock.

"Poor King Milliardo! Poor Queen Lucrezia! Poor Relena! She's heart broken!" Jasmine exclaimed, wrapping a comforting arm around her fellow Princess.

"He shouldn't have sent all of us! That was just so stupid!" Wufei yelled angrily.

"Ha! So much for heading to Castle Cinq, the only greeting we'll get there is a war axe banging down on our scrawny necks!" Fiora laughed.

"This isn't the time for jokes, Eleri!" Wong snapped.

"Jeez! I was just trying to lighten the mood!"

"The question is where do we go now?" Trowa asked.

"I say we continue on our way to Cinq" Quatre replied.

"WHAT? That's just plain crazy talk Quatre!" Duo shouted.

"OKAY you see? Now THAT'S not funny! That's just suicide!" Fiora exclaimed.

"We know that King Milliardo is still alive, that means that there must be hiding somewhere. If we go to Cinq we can ask around and hopefully find him and Queen Lucrezia before they do." Quatre replied calmly.

"Oh Christ! How IS IT that I always seem to get myself into these messes? If I hadn't helped Duo, I would have been far, FAR away from this whole problem by now! Why me? My god, WHY?" Fiora pouted.

"Who is going to come with me? You know I won't make you come if you don't want to." Quatre said.

"I'll go. I need to know if my bother and his wife are alright." Relena replied.

"Catherine was still at the castle when they attacked, I want to know that she survived." Trowa said.

"PWA? Cathy? I'll come too. Cathy was nice to Heero and me. I want to help!" Felina exclaimed.

"I'll come too. My cousin and I are irrespirable." Heero said tonelessly.

"It is my duty to return and assist in anyway possible." Wufei replied.

"As well as it is mine." Wong added.  


"I'll come Quatre." Jasmine said softly, still trying to comfort Relena and lull away the other princess' sobs.

"Hey, it's just by mere luck that I'm even still alive today, I'll go with you guys!" Duo chimed in.

"Ugh! And then I guess it leaves just me to pick where I stand, huh? FINE! I'll go, but if we all get killed, don't say that I didn't warn you!" Fiora groaned.

"Humph! If we all get killed, we won't be able to!" Wong snapped.

"Alright, let's be off then." Quatre said tiredly.

"Right." Duo replied.

And as everyone moved his or her steeds back onto the trail leading to Cinq, Fiora suddenly started laughing as she said:

"Told ya they would try it again!"

And to which everyone replied:

"SHUT UP FIORA!"

This, of course, only made her laugh even harder. Clearly, this was going to be a long, LONG, ride back to the kingdom of Cinq.

It was already well past midnight when our heroes arrived back at the aforementioned kingdom. And the sight for their sleep deprived and extremely sore eyes was one that was beyond nightmarish.

There before them lay millions upon thousands of men, of soldiers, dead upon the blood drenched grounds. King Milliardo's men all lay dead at their feet. Not a single building left standing among the rubble. Dead wives and children lie slumped up against what little remained of the marvelous manmade structures, slaughtered in their attempts to flee from the massacre. Trees still aflame from when the army ran through the now fallen pacifist kingdom's streets, taking torches and lighting the city aglow with hells fire and demon spawn from the shadows. Many of our heroes had to close their eyes to the scene before them, though; it did little to stop the wails of the tortured souls of the innocent from reaching their ears.

"Oh my god! NOOOOOOOO!" Relena screamed and buried her face in her hands, crying for her people, her friends, her only family she had left: Her elder brother and his wife.

Fiora numbly climbed off of her horse and staggered onto the battlefield, stopping in front of one of the few enemy soldiers that lay dead. "You call THIS a battle? HA! This wasn't a FIGHT! This was an enemy assisted mass SUICIDE!" she screamed as she slammed one boot clad feet onto his bloody head and crushing his skull under the sole of her shoe.

Duo's lips tightened into a thin line as he choked back his tears, his memories, and his pain. He gripped the reins tightly within his fists, making his steed, which he had begun to call Deathscythe, all the more tense after happening upon the scene.

Jasmine could only cry in young King Quatre's arms, as he let tears of his own fall upon her head like rain.

Wufei let out a battle cry while Jin bowed her head and let tears of her own be shed from her eyes without notice.

Felina's tears, though few, hit the ground and sprouted forth vine-like plants and flowers beneath her horses feet. Fairy tears were enchanted things that helped in the creation of life, and so their tears still carried the life-giving magic to make plants spring forth from the bloody battleground.

Heero looked on blankly at the rubble, not even aware of the ever so slight dampness on his cheeks and the vines threatening to seize his steed's hooves.

Trowa could only afford to let one tear drop to fall from his face, the picture of his adoptive sister burning in his mind, the thought of her dying much like the women and children that lay scattered in front of them.

So lost in their grief, they didn't notice the tall slim figure with soft, curly, auburn locks and icy blue eyes. "Thank god you made it here alright!" the figure sighed, running over to her brother and hugging him fiercely around the neck and kissing his cheek out of relief.

"C-Cathy! You're alright!" Trowa said still numb with shock.

"Of course I'm alright! I didn't learn to how to be a knife thrower just because I look good in the costume! Everyone's been worried sick about all of you! Specially you Princess Relena! Your brother almost didn't leave in time because he was still looking for you!" Catherine scolded angrily.

"Maiden Catherine, how is everyone? Are they alright?" Quatre asked.

"No. Only the King, Queen and I made it out alive. Both were badly wounded in our escape." Cathy replied sadly.

"Oh god, no." Relena whimpered, her hands over her mouth, and her eyes filling up once again with fresh tears.

"Come along. I'll take you to them." Cathy turned, motioning them to follow.

Everyone got off of their horses and followed her on foot, for the ground was too rough and would be dangerous for the horses to walk over.

They journeyed across the barren wasteland, and one couldn't help but be reminded of how it once looked so beautiful and filled with life. Then you would be knocked back onto reality by tripping over a rock, or some unfortunate dead soul and see what it had become in such a short time.

They, after a long days worth of trekking through the rubble, came to a small cave along the costal shores, the sun hidden by clouds and the lack of birds in the sky did nothing to lift our adventurers' hearts.

"They have arrived, your majesties." Cathy said, kneeling before King Milliardo, who was leaning up against a large rock, and Queen Lucrezia, who was sitting by his side.

"Thank you Catherine." Queen Lucrezia said, rising to her feet, wincing in pain from jarring her wounds.

"Lucrezia! Brother!" Relena cried as she pushed her way past the others and over to them.

"Relena… I'm so… glad… that you're alright." Milliardo gasped, grinding his teeth against the pain in his chest.

"Sshhhh! Don't talk Brother. Lucrezia, Who did this?" Relena choked, her eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"We still don't know. I'm just glad that you didn't listen to us when we wouldn't let you go. If you hadn't gone against our orders, you might very well be dead right now." Lucrezia smiled weakly.

"Queen Lucrezia, King Milliardo… I vow to find who did this and make them pay with their lives for what they've done!" 

"Thank you Ambassador Wufei." Lucrezia replied.

"I'll be going too! I can't just sit around and do nothing. Your kingdom and mine are allies, and what they had done wont go unpunished! I promise you!" Quatre said firmly.

"King Quatre, you always were your mothers son." Milliardo said with a slight smile. 

King Winner was never a fighter, and would avoid it at all costs, his wife, however, would fight, and did, to the bitter end, and that same determination gleamed in her son's eyes at that very moment in time, that one instance where Quatre's true strength was revealed.

"WHOA! Whoa, whoa, whoa! WAIT JUST ONE MOMENT! Hello? Are you all NUTS? In case ya hadn't noticed! We're just a bunch of KIDS! What the hell do you think we could possibly do against THEM! You all saw what happened! That goddamned battlefield looks like god himself put on his boots and FLATTENED King Milliardo's army for Christ's sakes! WHAT THE FUCK COULD TWO SCHOLARS, THREE DAMN BLUE BLOODS, A FUCKING STREET KID, A SHIT-HEAD CLOWN WITH A MASK, TWO FAIRIES, AND IDIOT PIRATE THAT DOESN'T KNOW WHEN TO RUN DO? NOTHING! THAT'S WHAT!" Fiora screamed, on the verge of a panic attack.

"What CAN'T we do? That would be a better question! If we all pull together, we could be almost unstoppable!" Felina chirped.

"…ARE YOU FUCKING DELUSIONAL? GODDAMN IT ALL TO MOTHER FUCKING HELL! DIDN'T YOU HEAR A SINGLE WORD THAT I SAID? WHAT THE HELL MAKES YOU THINK THAT?"

"Because you're the ones." Heero replied coolly.

"Say WHAT? What the FUCK does that mean?"

"You don't mean…" Trowa started.

"That we were the ones…" Quatre continued.

"All along?" Duo finished.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL TALKIN' ABOUT?" Fiora exclaimed, confused out of her wits.

"The fairy legend." Felina replied, as if it was common knowledge.

"And what, pray tell, is that?" Wong asked calmly.

"Twin cousins, born in the moor of fairy blood fair, but of no parents are gifted to. Destined to meet of human eight, noble, humble, kindred, kind. Three of Kings blood, one with a nameless face, one an earth bound demon, another a curse to the human race, two from the land of the sunrise. All shall these be keepers of the gates into Mystic, the land of the forgotten isles." Felina replied with a proud squeak and a smile.

"HUH?" Fiora scratched her head.

"I see." Wong said suddenly, turning to face the others, trying to figure out the riddle. "Three of kings blood… Princess Relena, Princess Jasmine, and Prince Quatre." she said, pointing. "One with a nameless face, Trowa with is mask," she said after a pause. "The earth bound demon… Duo Maxwell, I have heard tale from the men that took Wufei and I to Cinq that there was a boy in the Winner Kingdom, which is kin to Cinq, and that sailor's home, that you were known as the Maxwell Church Demon. Is that not true?"

"…Yeah, it's true." Duo mumbled, kicking the sand with the toe of his boots.

"And pirates are nothing but a curse to the human race." Wong said with snort.

"…You know, that might've hurt, if it wasn't the truth." Fiora muttered under her breath.

"Then that leaves you and Me, Wong, as the two from the land of the sunrise." Wufei added.

"Correct master Wufei. And it is very much true, the sun does rise in the east, and that is where we are from." Wong replied.

"That's fine. But what does this have to do with anything?" King Milliardo asked.

"It has everything to anything! It's part of the legend! We have to go back to the moor Heero! To Castle Grandeur! And tell King Wynford!" Felina replied, bouncing all around her cousin happily.

"Wait! What about my brother's kingdom? What about those men that did this?" Relena asked.

"Fiora was right about one thing… we aren't strong enough to do anything about that yet. We will go see King Wynford, king of the fairy people, he might be able to help us." Heero replied.

"I was right? Wow! That's a shocker!" Fiora laughed.

"Shut up Fiora." Everyone exclaimed.

"Jeez! Okay, okay…"

"Man! We just got BACK from there, and now we have to go through all of that AGAIN?" Duo sighed.

"It's the only way." Heero said tonelessly.

"Man! Next time, try to use your head a bit, will ya?"

"Same to you."

"WHAT?" 

Heero didn't reply.

"Hurry now, all of you. I'll stay here and take care of King Milliardo and Queen Lucrezia, so don't worry about them. Go!" Cathy said as she ushered all of them out of the cave.

"Goodbye sis, we'll be back soon." Trowa said.

"I know you will. Good luck!"

"Luck? HA! If ya gotta wish something for us, wish us SKILL! We'll need that more then any dumb old luck!" Fiora laughed.

"Well I still wish it the same. Hurry now! You don't have much time!"

"Right! Be careful of yourselves!" Quatre waved as he and the others ran, or, in Wong's case, trotted, back to their horses and were soon riding back into the forest where they came.

Their pace was swift, and their hearts set on completing their quest. And by the next morning's light, they were at the entrance to the moor.

"So, this is it, is it?" Duo asked, looking at the large moonstones that encircled them.

"Now the only question is, how do we get in?" Quatre asked as he looked under the hefty moonstone alter, shacking his head when he found nothing of interest under it.

"Mosses! When Heero and I would go in, we just put our hands over the alter, like this!" Felina chirped as she extended her hand over the stone table.

"Felina, that may not work, it would take us in, but there is the chance that they would still be stuck on the outside." Heero said calmly.

"Oh. But it can't hurt to try!" Felina said, at first sounding disappointed but then perked up at the thought of at least trying it.

"It couldn't hurt couldn't to try, could it?" Relena asked, reaching her small hand out to Felina's, only to have it snagged by Heero's larger one.

"We don't know that. Fairy magic and humans very rarely mix." he said sternly.

"I-I'm sorry." Relena stammered taking her hand back nervously and looking at the ground, unknowingly missing the worried and the, somewhat, hurt look in his eyes.

"Well, the way I see it. If we don't try, we might never get into that blasted kingdom of yours and then we'll never get to talk with your king, who then wont be able to help us, and if he doesn't help us, we're good as dead anyways! So why not give it a shot? It's not like we've got anything to lose!" Fiora laughed.

"Besides our lives." Duo mumbled.

"Wasn't you that said," Fiora paused to mimic his voice. "It's only by pure luck that I'm even still alive to begin with."

"That's not funny." Duo pouted.

Fiora just laughed as the others joined in.

"Let's keep looking. If we can't find any other way then we'll try Felina's idea." Quatre said as he continued to search.

"Hey Heero! Heero!" Duo shouted.

"What is it?" Heero asked, walking over to him.

"Do you know what these things mean?" Duo asked, pointing at the carvings in the stones around them.

"Oh that? That's just fairy words." Felina said, looking over her cousin's shoulder.

"I kinda figured that, but what does it SAY?" Duo demanded.

"Echwan Fermok Perperfeomph, Tahtah Nomock Kekeuko." Heero replied with a slight smirk.

"HUH? What's that mean?" Duo asked.

"Here stands Perfection, keeper of the Sword." Felina giggled.

"Huh… what about this one?" Duo asked, pointing at another.

"Echwan Fermok Kkelonte, Tahtah Nomock Neohnki." Heero said, reading his language aloud.

"Here stands Just, keeper of the Armor." Felina translated.

"Humm… and the next one?"

"Echwan Fermok Leckma, Tahtah Nomock Feugosote." Heero read.

"Here stands Dark, keeper of the Cloak." Felina said, with Wufei and Wong paying extra close attention.

"What about this one you guys?" Fiora said, catching on to what Duo was trying to do.

"Echwan Fermok Pareomf, Tahtah Nomock Grehongodo."

"Here stands Innocence, Keeper of the Shadow book."

"And this one?" Trowa asked, also catching on.

"Echwan Fermok Honto, Tahtah Nomock Cahlanontole."

"Here stands Jester, Keeper of the Hunt."

"And this one here?" Fiora asked.

"Echwan Fermok Hingcog, Tahtah Nomock Nemongiles."

"Here stands Freedom, Keeper of the Stars."

"What about this one?" Duo pointed.

"Echwan Fermock Vernlingk, Tahtah Nomock Diningcongfo."

"Here stands Voice, Keeper of the Bird Note."

"This one?" Jasmine asked, finally figuring out what they were all trying to do.

"Echwan Fermock Neek, Tahtah Nomock Jiklomote."

"Here stands Defended, Keeper of the Staff."

"Here?" Quatre asked, following Jasmine's lead.

Echwan Fermock Tumtuno, Tahtah Nomock Rengowanti."

"Here stands Illusion, Keeper of the Change."

"And the last one?" Fiora asked.

"Echwan Fermock Sinjizoton, Tahtah Nomock Zentradi."

"Here stands Serenity, Keeper of the shield…" Felina said, trailing off before adding, "That's all of it."

"What do you suppose it all means?" Quatre asked.

"Do you think that they're grave stones?" Relena asked.

"No. We don't bury our dead." Heero replied.

"Oh."

"Then what could they be then?" Jasmine asked.

"Anything, they could also be nothing. Fairy is strange, the words can have meaning, but there are times when it's not the word, it's the symbol that's important." Felina's voice tweeted.

"I don't think that was it. If it was only the symbol that was important in this case, then why does it make sense?" Wong questioned.

"Good point Lady Wong." Quatre replied.

"You guys are so fucking blind it's not even funny!" Fiora exclaimed.

"Oh really? And I suppose you have it all figured out right? Well, do you woman?" Wufei asked smugly.

"You have NO I idea how much I SO wanna say that I do, but I don't. I do know that Duo has however!" Fiora laughed.

Everyone turned to look at Duo, who was looking at one of the stones.

"Duo, is she right?" Quatre asked.

"I hope so. I think I've got it." He said with a snap of his fingers as he began to move everyone around and saying things like: "could you stand over here for a sec? Thanks, you're a babe!" and "No, no! You go over THERE! Not here, sorry about that." or "On second thought, maybe it's YOU that goes over THERE and he goes over here." This went on for the next few hours or so until he was sure it was right and stood in front of the last stone that wasn't taken.

"Okay. So, now what do we do?" Jasmine asked, curious.

"Now we all walk to the alter-thingy and do whatever it is that Heero and Felina do to get inside." Duo replied with a smile.

"Maxwell, are you sure this will work?" Wong asked.

"Nope." Duo replied with a laugh.

"Oh… that's just perfect! LOVELY! Oh well… everyone ready?" Fiora said.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Trowa replied.

"Okay. GO!" Duo said and they all started walking towards the center at the same time.

"Everyone, hold out your hands, place them over mine, palms down." Heero ordered and everyone complied.

"Well, so far so good." Duo said, placing his hand just as Heero instructed.

"Now what?" Wufei asked when nothing happened.

"We wait." Heero replied.

And, as if triggered by their words, the large, upright, pillar-like, moonstones around them began to glow an unearthly shade of blue and a bright red light exploded from the alter around their hands, frightening the horses and making them gallop away.

"Oh no!" Relena shouted as she watched the horses run, wanting to brake away from the others to try and get them back.

"Don't move your hand!" Heero yelled at her, making her snap her head to look at him.

"But the horses--"

"Can take care of themselves! Don't move your hand!" He ordered, cutting her off.

"…Alright…" 

"Uh guys? Is this normal?" Fiora asked, watching as ghost-like creatures, bathed in an amber glow, pulled themselves away from the moonstone pillars and began to circle around them.

"Nuh uh." Felina replied, shaking her head now.

"I'm gonna die!" Fiora yelled, clenching her eyes shut as the ghost creatures continued to twirl around them, as if trapped inside the eye of a tornado.

Suddenly the earth underneath their feet began to tremble, almost expecting their doom. The ghosts spun closer, and closer, and closer still to the red light that encased their quaking hands. The sky darkened, lightning zoomed down around them, striking the moonstone pillars, thunder crashing and clashing like great swords fighting in the heavens, like Satan and God himself had chosen that exact moment to wage a war, with them trapped in the middle. The ghosts flew into the red beam of light, creating an explosion of light, sending them all reeling into unconsciousness.

______________________________________________________________________________

Mah ha ha ha ha! I love making cliffhangers! Yes, I know, you hate it when I do this to you Ashley, but I couldn't help it, besides, if I didn't, I never would have been able to finish this chapter! I didn't get even half of all I wanted to in this chapter, but still, this is some pretty hefty stuff! You know my e-mail so feel free to R&R okay? Byes! 


	13. The caves of Epyon

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R for swearing, violent situations and POSSIBLY some suggestive dialog

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first. Thank you!

Keys:

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 13

Slowly everyone awoke on the hard dirt and stone covered floor in a dank and damp cave-like dwelling with lit torches on walls that glistened with quartz crystal imbedded within it.

"Uh… are we dead?" Jasmine asked as she finally came-to.

"Oh, god I hope so!" Fiora muttered as she rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the splitting headache that she had acquired.

"This isn't Grandeur. Heero, where are we?" Felina chirped.

"It's a cave." Heero replied.

"I think we already knew that!" Duo remarked loudly.

"Please! Let's not fight with each other, okay?" Quatre said, stepping in, ever the peacemaker.

"Quatre is right. Fighting amongst ourselves will do us little good right now." Trowa stated calmly, his back leaning up against one of the flatter walls of the cave, his arms folded over his chest.

Just then, Wong let out a scream of surprise.

"Lady Wong! What is it? What's the matter? Are you alright?" Quatre questioned, noting that she was staring down at her feet.

"What's the matter with you? See a rat?" Fiora laughed.

Wong didn't respond, still in shock.

"What's wrong with you woman?" Wufei barked, stalking over to see what had her so surprised that she couldn't even move.

"This does not make sense! It is not possible!" Wong muttered.

"What's not?" Relena asked, standing up on her tiptoes, trying to see around the men.

"Can you not tell? Are you all blind? Look! See for yourself!" Wong commanded, motioning her hands down towards her perfectly normal feet. (Let's remember that they were once deformed because they were bound when she was younger, so now you can understand her shock. Something like that isn't reversible)

"WHAT?" Wufei exclaimed, it suddenly dawning on him what had happened.

"What's what? What's goin' on here?" Fiora said, pushing the others out of her way so that she could see.

"Th-This shouldn't have been able to happen! It isn't possible!" Wong said, taking tentative steps forward, trying to get used to the feel of having bigger feet. (They would be bigger if they weren't bound cause they wouldn't have been, literally, folded over themselves)

"Magic maybe?" Felina pondered aloud.

"It's possible." Heero agreed with a firm nod.

"Wong, are you alright?" Jasmine whispered.

"I'll be fine. It was more of a shock at first then anything else." Wong replied firmly.

"Okay, so now what do we do? Do we even have ANY idea as to where the hell this place is?" Fiora asked, turning around to get the full view of the cavern.

"Mosses! Heero and I could teleport to Grandeur and see King Wynford! Then we would tell him what happened and then he would use his magic to teleport you over to him!" Felina said, proud that she had thought of it first.

"It could work." Heero added with a slight nod of his head.

"That's brilliant! We'll wait here." Quatre said.

"Right!" Both Heero and Felina nodded.

"…Well? What're ya waitin' for? AN ENGRAVED INVITATION?" Fiora said, breaking the silence.

Heero and Felina snapped their heads up and looked at each other with a look of alarm in their eyes.

"It-It's not working!" Felina stammered.

"WHAT?" Duo exclaimed.

The words: "But how?" "What happened?" and "What's wrong?" came from the others, their voices blending into each other.

"I'll tell you how, your magic has been conveniently misplaced." came a raspy voice, followed by the sounds of some kind of metal striking the cave floor. Heero and Felina turned and dropped to their knees in a swift, bowing fashion.

"King Wynford!" they exclaimed.

The Dryad's King stepped into the light before them, his long beard just barely touching the floor, his golden cape trailing behind him, his height barely two inches tall. Felina looked at her King and had to rub her eyes to be sure that she wasn't seeing things.

"PWA? What's this? Why are you so, small…?" She squeaked.

"This is your great and all mighty KING? THIS? You gotta be shitting me here! No way!" Fiora laughed.

"I AM King Wynford!" the small fairy man said, his voice booming loudly despite his small stature.

"You used to be bigger." Heero stated calmly.

"I am still the same size I was when you last left my courts, my prodigy. It is you that isn't the same size!" Wynford corrected.

"Mosses! We shrink when we go to Grandeur!" Felina exclaimed.

"Yeah, sure. Look, this is all fine and dandy and all that bullshit! But would you MIND filling us in here? I'd hate to break it to ya Kingie, but in case ya hadn't noticed! We HUMANS have no CLUE as what the FUCK you're all talkin' about!" Fiora yelled.

"You said our magic was misplaced. Where did it go?" Heero demanded.

"Why to the humans of royal, of course!" Wynford replied.

"Of royal? But then, that would be us, King Quatre, Princess Jasmine and me. But why would we get their magic, your majesty?" Relena asked.

"Have you no idea? Are humans really as ignorant as my Sprites say? In every great adventurers party there consists of three magic users. I have known for a long time that my prodigies carried with them more magic then possible for mere Dryads, mere forest dwelling fairy folk, that magic was to come to you once you arrived here, in the caves of Epyon. Now my prodigies are nothing more then your average Dryad, only able to handle to simplest of forest magic, nothing more." Wynford replied.

"Pwa? No more teleporting?" Felina sniffed.

"No more teleporting." Wynford replied firmly.

"So, now they have our magic. What is our use in this party, if not to be magic users, then what?" Heero questioned.

"Heero, step down this path behind me and receive your Sword and the gift from the cave of Epyon." Wynford said, teleporting onto a rock higher up, so that he could seem them all at their eye level.

Heero stood up, nodded to his king and walked into the depths of cave and out of sight.

"Felina, my second prodigy, you are the bard, follow your kin and receive your flute and Epyons gift for you." (A Bard was viewed as a magic storyteller; they used music and song to tell stories. But some believed that their music really did have magic in it, and it helped protect the members of their party.)

"Thank you King Wynford!" Felina chirped as she ran into after her cousin.

"Who is Wufei?" Wynford asked, looking around at the others.

"I am he." Wufei replied, stepping forward.

"You will be the first of two Ninjas, I give you your Armor." Wynford boomed, waving his staff in the air, a long smoky band of fairy magic floating up and around Wufei who stood as still as a statue, unfazed by the fancy show that Wynford was putting on.

The smoke wrapped around him, clinging to the silk of his robes before flashing a glistening green color and turning into the tight form fitting white garments, earning a curious look from Wufei (Ninjas are known for only wearing black, enough said.)

"I leave Eypon to give to you her gifts." Wynford said, motioning towards the passageway in which the others went.

Wufei bowed and stalked into the dark tunnel.

"Duo?" Wynford asked.

"Here!" Duo shouted from behind the others, making his way to the front.

"You will be their thief, and will be a valuable assist to your party. I give you your weapon."

"But I already have one! See?" Duo said, pulling out his broken Scythe.

"I see… place it on ground, broken ends together."

Duo did as he was told and Wynford waved his staff over to broken Scythe and, with a ray white light, the Scythe was not only mended, but its otherwise plain looking blade now glowed green and it was gilded with gold and diamonds on its edge.

"Whoa! Thanks man!" Duo exclaimed, picking up his scythe and testing it out on a nearby rock. The Scythe slashed through it without the slightest bit of resistance. "Wow." Duo murmured, in awe.

"Epyon awaits."

"Oh! Yeah, yeah, right! Thanks!" Duo said, snapping out of it and running off.

"Now I will take one of the magic users. King Quatre, step forward." Wynford beckoned.

"You wanted me first, Sir?" Quatre said, walking up to the small fairy king.

"Yes, you will need this." Wynford said waving his staff and making a large book appear in Quatre's hands. "This is the Book of Shadows, or Shadow book if you like, it contains a listing of all of the spells known to fairy and man alike, keep it safe and it stall reward you with all its wisdom."

"I'll be sure to take good care of it always Wynford." Quatre replied before continuing on his way into the dark caverns beyond.

"Trowa, or perhaps I should say, Nanashi, No-name?" Wynford smiled.

"I have no name, that is true, but, if you must call me something, call me Trowa Barton." Trowa replied stepping forward calmly.

"Ah, yes, Jester, Keeper of the Hunt. I give you, your bow!"

Lightning struck down out of nowhere and into Trowa's hands, traveling up his arms and onto his back, shooting around a large quiver of arrows that wasn't there before, and in his hands lay, still crackling with lightning, was a long bow, beautifully strung and ready for use.

"Right. Thank you." Trowa said, heading off into the cave like the others.

"I'll take the second Ninja, Wong."

Wong approached him, still slightly unsteady on her feet.

"You have my gift already, how do you like being able to fight?"

"It is different to what I am used to, but not unappreciated." Wong said. Bowing deeply.

"Good, good. Please, walk on." Wynford said, turning slightly and extending his hand towards the dark path beyond.

Wong bowed once again and walked off, fighting the urge to start running for the first time since she was first bound, at age seven.

"Princess Jasmine."

"I'm right here, your majesty." Jasmine said, curtsying before him.

"I have a special gift for you. I give you my staff," he said, his staff glowing whiter and whiter until it disappeared from his hands and into Jasmine's. It grew and grew until it was just the right size in length and width.

"Th-Thank you! Thank you very much, your majesty, I-I really don't know what to say." She whispered in awe.

"It was to be yours to begin with, think nothing of it Princess." He replied as she bowed and slowly walked on.

"Fiora, step forward." He beckoned.

"Aye, aye Captain! One pirate, as you requested." Fiora laughed, taking off her hat and bowing.

"Hum… Turn around for me." he commended.

"Wha? Okay, I guess…" Fiora said, replacing her hat upon her head and turning around a few times.

"Ah! Now I see what the problem is!" King Wynford exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

"Hey! What the hell? THAT'S MINE YOU LITTLE…!" Fiora yelled, realizing that he had taken her sword and scabbard from her belt.

"Ah ah ah! Do you really want this so much that you would turn down what I am going to give you in exchange?"

"Um… let me think about that for a moment… YES! That was my grandpa's sword and I want it back NOW!" 

"I see… well how about this…" He murmured as he ran his hand over the sword's sheathed blade, causing it to start glowing with a strange black light, before reaching the hilt and making it disappear into thin air.

"HEY! You bring that back!"

"No, no… don't you see? I have returned it to your grandfather, where it belongs. I have two gifts for you, you see. One of which is this…" he said, waving his hand over the upturned palm of his other, revealing a rather flat, wooden box with silver runes carved into it's sides and top.

"Uh huh, yeah, so? What's so great about that?" Fiora snapped, still sore about having lost her grandfather's sword.

"See for yourself." he said transporting it into her arms.

Fiora eyed the little fairy king for a moment before opening the latch to the surprisingly large, but extremely light, box and lifting the lid. Inside, it contained one blue mask, two black leather gloves, a piece of wire that was bent and twisted into the shape of a pair of glasses, a blue vest, and small dark blue sailor captain's hat.

"Huh?" Fiora said, looking confused.

"Well, aren't you going to put them on?" Wynford prompted.

"Why should I?"

"Trust me. They're very safe." he assured.

Fiora put everything on and then looked over at Relena, who was the only one there besides Wynford, and said, "Well, do I look like an idiot?"

Relena smiled. "Only if you looked like one before you put everything on, it's all turned invisible."

"You're shitting me! So it looks like I'm not wearing ANY of it?"

"I can't see any of it."

Fiora turned back to look at Wynford. "Okay wise guy, just what hell is this stuff supposed to do?"

"Now that you have it on, you can change your appearance to outsiders by merely thinking it." Wynford replied.

"I'll believe it when I see it… so what was the next gift you had for me?" she asked.

"This…" he replied, and with a snap of his fingers she disappeared.

"What? Where did she go?" Relena asked, looking around.

"I transported her to the others, no need to worry."

"Your majesty, what gift do you have for me? The last magic user."

"I have only this," he said, pulling out a small glowing orb and holding it in the palm of his hand.

"What is it?"

"This is your shield. As long as you hold it on your hands, no harm shall come to you or your friends. But be warned, this takes more then just magic to use, it takes spirit, and one must have a strong spirit to use it for any length of time. Not only that, it is very fragile and will brake easily, be careful with it." he said, making it float up out of his hands and making it grow so that it would fit comfortably into her palms.

"I'll be careful."

"Good good! Now then, off you go, and good luck to you."

"Thank you, good King Wynford, you have no idea how much this means to me."

"Oh but little human, I do, I do." he said as he faded into thin air, his voice echoing as he left.

Relena stared at where the old fairy king once stood for a moment before turning and, with her shoulders back and her head held high, walked deeper into the dark caves of Epyon, her orb her only source of light.

"Hello? Fiora? Jasmine? Quatre? Heero? Anyone?" she called softly, her only reply was her own voice echo back at her, taunting her.

'I wonder where they all went, they couldn't be that far ahead, could they?' she thought as she looked around, walking slowly so as to make sure that she didn't trip and break the delicate glowing sphere in her hands.

She walked for what seemed like hours in the seemingly endless darkness and still not even seeing hide or hair of any of the others. 'I hope I didn't miss a path; maybe I should turn back…NO! You've gotten this far Relena, you can't back out now! You can't have much further to go…' she thought.

Two hours later, sweaty and tired, she kneeled down onto the hard cave floor to take a rest, and to cry. "It's no use! I'm hopelessly lost in here! Probably forever! Oh god! What do I do now?" she sniffed, wiping away her tears as quickly as they came, her orb nestled next to her feet.

"Jeez! I was really starting to wonder when you'd give up!" Fiora laughed. "I gotta admit Relena, you're pretty tough, you lasted longer then some of us!" she added before somehow managing to laugh harder.

"Fiora!" Wong scolded.

"What?" Relena said looking up to find herself back in the forest with all of her friends grouped around her.

"As it turns out, the cave of Epyon was not only giving us something while we were in the darkness, but was also testing us, to see where our braking points were, or when we figured out what it was trying to do." Quatre explained.

"Now all we have to wait for is Heero. Man! Gotta hand it to him, he sure is mighty stubborn! He's worse then an Eleri!" Fiora laughed.

Relena took a look around; noticing that Fiora was right, Heero wasn't out yet!

"But, he was the first one to go in!" Relena exclaimed, more then slightly worried about his safety and well-being.

"Mosses! Don't worry! Heero's been through worse! He'll be fine!" Felina chirped.

"The worst that could happen is that he could pass out from exhaustion in there, and once that happened he would be transported back here." Wong said, as if matter-of-fact.

"I hope you're right Wong, I really hope that you are right." Relena said, picking up her orb and standing up, suddenly realizing that she was no longer in men's clothing, but in a long, white, flowing robe. Looking at the others, she noticed that they, too, weren't wearing the same things that they wore when then had first entered.

Felina was dressed in an outfit that consisted of a long sleeved, greenish-blue top, matching hat with two eagle feathers sticking out of it, a bluish-green skirt with breeches underneath it that gathered at the knees by the tops of her brown knee-high boots, and in her hands she held a long golden flute.

Wufei was still dressed in the all white Ninja outfit, but only now there was a strange looking sword strapped to his back by a black sheath that had a black band of leather that went over his shoulders to keep it in place.

Wong was dressed very much the same as Wufei, only her Ninja garb was black and more form-fitting so it clung to all of her curves like a second skin, leaving little to be imagined, but, on her arms, she held the real prize, ten silver ninja stars fitted into two arm bracers, five on each arm, that gleamed in the sunlight.

Duo could have stepped out of an ill man's nightmare, he was dressed in all black and wore a long cloak that just barely stopped just above the toes of his shiny black boots, and then there was his new scythe, glowing like the devil's eye. All this gave him the appearance of being something akin to the grim-reaper.

Quatre was also dressed in a robe colored a dark blue, and atop his head he wore a pointy hat of the same coloring, at his rune engraved belt, he carried a sword with a gold hilt that was incrusted with gems of varying types. Obviously, he was a battle-mage, and in his hands he still carried the book of shadows that Wynford had entrusted him.

Fiora was wearing thick soled black boots, matching breeches and gloves, a red puffed sleeved tunic with a lace up front, dark blue vest, and matching sea captain's hat. On her hip she wore short sword, gleaming in the light, a small crystal dangled from her neck on a thin silver chain and a large hoop earring in her right ear.

Trowa was dressed in the outfit of a ranger, heavy brown leather boots, long sleeved tunic made of soft elks hide with tassels hanging off of the upper part of his chest and from the underside of his sleeves, to aid in keeping himself dry (don't ask me how that works, it just does), his breeches were made of the even softer leather, deer hide, and also had tassels hanging off of the outside sides. All this was almost completely hidden by bear skin cloak wrapped around his shoulders and neck and secured by a singular tarnished silver pin in the front, his quiver, bow and arrows were fitted over it.

Jasmine was also dressed in earthy tones. Her robes were made of soft greens, glistening with golden runes imprinted all over it, her staff in her hands, a tan colored cape flowing all around her, and her gleaming black hair pulled up away from her face and atop her head and allowed to spill back down over the sides of her lightly blushed cheeks in long curling ringlets.

"So, what do we do now?" Relena asked.

"What else? We wait until Heero makes it out, there isn't much else we can do at the moment." Quatre replied with a heavy sigh as he sat down on a rotting log.

'Oh god Heero, please be alright. Be safe' Relena thought before she curled up next to an elm tree's trunk and falling into a deep sleep.

It wasn't until late into the night that Heero finally got of the caves of Epyon, too weak to even stand, everyone agreed that they should stay until morning light, and so, with Trowa standing watch, everyone, including Heero, made their beds out of fallen leaves, having lost all of their supplies when their horses ran off with all of it still on their backs, and slipped into a blissful sleep.

______________________________________________________________________________ Yes, yes, I know how long it's been since I last sent in a chapter, but I have my reasons. If you don't like then though! Deal with it! Lol you know the drill, e-mail me at FioraEmbyr@aol.com flame away my little pretties!


	14. Think, Rethink, and think again

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first, thank you.

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 14

Campfire. No, bonfire light was what he saw. In his sleep Heero lay, chained down, in a room with a window that caught the firelight as it shined into the starless night sky.

Memories. This was all that it was, all that it was meant to be, the echo of beating drums and ringing voices, wailing into the night. And campfires. It was all from the past. His past. What was once only back then, was once again haunting the now. All because of this meaningless hell that the humans called: dreamland.

It was made of thatching, twig, hey, and mud. It was his prison; he wasn't strong enough to break the chains, which bound him here, to this place, to this hole that he still suffers in. Even after he was set free.

Humans. He could smell them coming for him long before he saw them. The foul stench of animal blood clung to their skin; they had literally bathed in it, for this ritual, this rite.

They hadn't fed him. Not that he could have eaten what they had to offer anyways. He was so weak he couldn't see straight. Everything was one fuzzy blob to him.

They dragged him out by his arms; his feet and knees lay limp, leaving tracks like a snake's behind them.

The high priest, who was what they called the monster that stood before the altar, he tied him down, the groves in the stone cut into his flesh, as did the ropes that bound him in place. He vaguely recalled trying to fight to get free. Some of the humans cheered, but none helped him.

Human words. Grunt and spoken in the back of their throats like a wad of mucus that clung to ones lungs. He couldn't understand them then.

The knife. The dagger which was held in the human monster's hand, held above his chest, tip pointed down, gleaming in the firelight.

The pain. The searing pain that never came held back by Wynford's staff and Felina's magic kept the other humans at bay.

Freedom. The ropes cut and being led out of his prison. He left something behind though, his heart, and his belief that humans could understand, could learn to care, to feel.

He would take the magic away from the humans one day. He swore that he would. Humans had no right to have it, to be so powerful. Felina would never know what happened. He swore that too.

Something wet. Something was dripping on his forehead; it was cold and gave off a rather annoying feeling. Heero slowly opened his eyes.

"Duo." he glared at the street-boy-turned-knight as he sat up and rubbed the water off of his face.

"'Bout time you woke up! We've been waitin' for you since this morning!"

Heero just grunted and got to his feet, noting that the sun was already high in the sky.

"Thank goodness you're awake! I was starting to get worried about you, Heero." Relena said as she made her way over to him, her crystal ball-like orb in her hands.

"She thought that you was sick! Been trying to get us to try and find something wrong with you. What a drip!" Fiora laughed.

"I was worried! I didn't want anything to happen to him, especially on our first day really and truly on our own." Relena replied.

"Whatever you say Princess!"

"… Regardless of who said and did what, we still are yet to decide which direction to go." Wong said, shooting a glare at the female pirate.

"Most of our horses came back while you were still asleep so we won't have to walk everywhere." Duo said, cheerfully motioning towards the seven out of the original ten horses sitting in the shade of a nearby tree.

"Yeah, mine included, I swear that damned thing is out to get me!" Fiora exclaimed, making the others laugh at her out of pity.

"I highly doubt it, Fiora." Wong snorted.

"We seem to have wandered off of the subject at hand." Wufei said, bringing an end of the snickers from the others.

"Right. We really should launch our retaliation against whoever attacked Cinq." Quatre pondered loudly.

"The only problem is, we have no real idea who that might be." Jasmine sighed, shaking her head.

"But unfortunately, when they attacked they didn't carry their flag. This works to their advantage, but does little to aid us in finding them. What cowards!" Wong seethed.

"They were relying on their anonymity from the start." Trowa stated in his calm fashion.

"It sure seems that way, doesn't it? It's a little freaky when you think about it. It's almost like they KNEW that we were going to go after them and that we were… uh… what was it that we were again? The Keepers of the Gates into Mystic?" Duo asked.

"Pwa, yep! That's right." Felina replied.

"What the hell is this Mystic thing anyways? Ain't no one said anything about that yet. What with that?" Fiora questioned.

"The forgotten isles not a thing; it's a place." Heero corrected.

"Really? What is it like?" Relena asked, curious.

"I wouldn't know I've never been there."

"So, what exactly are we supposed to do there? Or is that also something that you don't know?" Wong said, using reverse-psychology to try and extract a straight answer from them.

"Wynford told us! It's like a passageway, a bridge, into the forgotten isles. It's a patch of fog-covered land that looks like a white swamp with a few dead trees still sticking out of the watery ground. See? I know what it is! So there!" Felina said, sticking her tongue out at her.

"Yeah, that sounds like a GREAT place to hang out for the rest of our lives… NOT!" Fiora said sarcastically.

"Maybe not, but it is the only thing that stands in the way of humans and the our world." Heero replied.

"I'm not sure I quite understand; you say you have never seen it, yet you have to pass through it to get to and from your world and ours, right? How is that possible?" Quatre asked.

"There was never a need to be there so we would usually just teleport over it." Heero replied.

"Okay… weird, why in the HELL do you have something like that there and never even make use of it?" Fiora exclaimed, confused.

"To keep Humans out; they can't just teleport over it, not when they don't know how far they have to go to get across or which direction to go. Its another way we keep our borders safe from humans that would wish to harm us." Heero replied.

"I got a word for that; it's called PARANOID!" Fiora laughed.

"Paranoia or not, that isn't our reason for conversing; our reason is to plan our next move!" Wong glared.

"I say we go to this forgotten isle and maybe we'll find some answers." Quatre said with a resolute nodding of his head.

"I think we should go back to Cinq and see if my brother can't remember anything about who it might have been that attacked our kingdom." Relena said firmly.

"Personally, I'd rather get the HELL outta here, to HELL with them, to HELL with Cinq, to HELL with Mystic, and to HELL WITH ALL OF YOU! I've gotten my ass into this mess far enough, thank-you-very-much! Look! I ain't asked for this! I don't wanna be a hero! This is CRAZY! We're gonna get KILLED, I don't give a fuck about what King What's-his-face says! Under all of this fancy magical BULLSHIT we're still just a bunch of kids that ain't got no clue as to what the hell we're gonna do! We're still the same screwed up pack of punks that consists of TWO SCHOLARS, THREE BLUE BLOODS, A STREET KID, A CLOWN, TWO FAIRIES, AND A PIRATE!" Fiora laughed.

This started quite the chain reaction, starting from Relena and Jasmine opening their mouths with shock, Wong and Felina clamping theirs shut angrily, Wufei drawing his sword, Duo taking a step back because the blade came dangerously close to his neck, Heero ignoring her completely, Quatre stepping in to try and pacify the situation, and Trowa, well, Trowa was Trowa and he was leaning up against a tree trunk, taking this all in before looking up at them and offering a solution.

"Hold it, we know that the enemy came through this forest, remember? If we wait here, there is bound to be more of them to pass through here and then it would just be the simple matter of following their trail back to their main fortress." Trowa said, raising his hands to stop the verbal fight that was ensuing between his comrades.

It was as if they had just realized that he was there for the first time in forever; It was like they just realized that he wasn't deaf, dead, or blind for the first time they first met him. Trowa was known for doing that to people, invisible until he wants to be seen and heard. It didn't come to any surprise to him when they gave him their full attention.

"Uh… as much as I like that idea, there is just one slight problem with that… IN CASE YA HADN'T NOTICED! Ain't no one passed by here ALL DAY!" Fiora yelled.

"No, wait Fiora, I think Trowa is onto something." Quatre said, raising his hand to silence her.

"ARE YOU LOONY?"

"No, Fiora, listen. Trowa's right, this is the only road into Cinq, they have to cut though here, it's either that or risk the monsters deep within, beyond the paths." Quatre said.

"I have a question; does anyone know of the different places this road splits off to?" Wong asked.

"I do, one goes to Quatre's kingdom. One goes to Benovia, ruled by King Traize. Another leads to Encatnta, a small kingdom ruled by Princess Dorothy while her father wages war with another land to the north. And the last is a small town just along the cape." Jasmine replied.

"Okay, well it isn't my kingdom or the town, neither of those two would attack Cinq. So that leaves Benovia and Encatnta." Quatre said, wondering aloud.

"The best course of action would be to move to that part where the road splits off and wait for them there, that way we can be sure we have the right path." Trowa said from his spot next to a tree.

"That's fine. Let's do that, that is, if there aren't any objections?" Quatre questioned.

Fiora looked like she was about to say something but, with all of the warning glares that promised a great deal of bodily harm if she said anything, she wisely clamped her mouth shut and muttered under her breath about "Damned blade-happy land-lovers, think they own the world, why I outta…" and so on and so forth.

It wasn't until they had all checked their supplies and got the horses ready when they realized that three of them would have to share a horse. This, of all things, made Fiora cheer up, not because of the fact that she might get to ride with someone, but more the fact that she was more then willing to let someone else ride her horse while she walked. This only got her a loud chorus of: "FIORA, SHUT UP!" Ending the thought right then and there.

In the end, Jin, Relena, and Jasmine ended up riding with Wufei, Heero, and Quatre. This caused only minor complaints from Wufei but, with exception of him, everyone else seemed to be taking the arrangements rather well, that is, all except Fiora, who still held out saying that she "could manage just fine walking" and that she "would bet my left boot that I could beat ya'll to the fork in the road on foot before ya'll did!" not that anyone believed her, and so she rode on her steed, grumbling the whole way, making her horse even more jumpy then usual.

"Pwa! Fiora! You're only making it worse!" Felina chirped.  


"Yeah, well, its not like I have any say in the matter! Your body would be tense too if it got knocked off of this damned thing twice within a one week time span!" Fiora said, wrinkling her nose up at the fairy girl as she rode past.

This started a rather interesting show for the rest of the trip, as Fiora, being one never to back out of a challenge, ended up having a race between Felina, Trowa and Duo the rest of the way there. Sure, she lost, but at least everyone was laughing and smiling again; that was better then any high that she could have gotten from winning in her opinion.

Late that night, after feasting on elk that Trowa killed, they turned in for the night with Wufei keeping watch. As everyone had settled in, climbed the tallest tree he could find and seated him self on one of its branches. It was the perfect vantage point, he could see far into the distance and yet he still had a good view of what went on below him, namely the fire and the forms sleeping next to it.

"You've been quiet." a strangely distant voice said, by some weird twist of nature, next to his ear.

"I was wondering when you were going to show yourself all day, Meiran." He replied as he turned his head to look at her wavering form as it faded in and out of phase, it's slightly glowing white setting off the sharp blackness with its bitter cold warmth. Wufei mused silently on how that was even possible, to have warmth and yet be so cold to the touch at the same time.

"I couldn't do that with them awake; it would surely have given Wong a heart attack." she remarked wryly.

"Hum."

"Look at it, the moon, I've never seen it that color before." Meiran murmured.

Wufei looked up and there, just behind the treetops, was the moon, glowing an unusual shade of orange, very much unlike the icy blue shades that one normally sees reflecting down upon them. Wufei stood up on his branch, being careful not to touch Meiran's wavering form, and looked down at the members of his party sleeping peacefully while strange shadow-like being slithered through the camp; stopping to look at their calmly resting faces.

"Do you know who they are, Wufei?" Meiran asked, not bothering to turn her head to look.

"No."

"They've been following you for the longest time, only stopping once you reached the fairy's stone alter."

"Who sent them?"

"I don't know." came Meiran's faded reply, she was disappearing again, Wufei noted.

"What are they after?"

"You… and them… and everything that involves you."

"How do we stop them?"  


"You can't, they aren't really here, and they fade in and out like I do, shifting between worlds…" Meiran's voice echoed as she faded out completely, leaving Wufei to decide how he was going to take care of the shadowy monstrosities that had invaded their camp for the first, and last, time.

Wufei shimmied down the tree trunk silently and, turning so that his back was to it, used it as a shield between himself and the shadow beings and in doing so, he managed to be close enough to pick up the growling words in the shadow-like's tongue.

"Blangzenti galntongmogo thwidknke, fornoutisnsn Dermail-snonjuokong, Fernvernto! Poplomontidn ghtimaeos bjotasjeifnmo."

'Dermail…now that sounds familiar…' Wufei thought.

"GAHHHZAAAHHHSSSS!" one of the shadow monsters cried out suddenly, making the rest of them look up before slinking away into the darkness from which they came.

Wufei, now somewhat alarmed as to what made them flee, stepped out from behind the tree and approached the others and, kneeling down, gently shaking Wong awake.

"M-master…?" Wong mumbled, her mind in a sleepy haze.

"Get up. We had some unwelcome guests," he ordered, standing up to tend to the fire.

"Master!" Wong cried realizing who it was that, through her sleep clouded mind woke her up. "Master Wufei, What…" she stammered and busied herself with getting breakfast ready for the others.

"Forget about that for now, Wong. Wake the others, we have to move, and soon." Wufei ordered.

"What? But Master Wufei!"

"DO IT!"

"…Yes Master Wufei, as you wish…" Wong said, trying her best to hide her shock, Wufei rarely gave her orders in such a tone and even more rarely did he raise his voice to her.

'He must be very troubled by something. Whatever happened while we slept affected him more then he seems to realize.' Wong thought, her mouth set in a grim line as she set to work on waking the others.

He saw the look of surprise on her face before she forced it away. And he knew why she had it. He knew it wasn't acting like himself, and it was all due to the fact that those things had gotten into camp on his watch, literally, right under his nose. And he didn't even see them until it was almost too late!

"Alright, what is it?" Heero asked, getting right to the point.

"Shadow beings snuck into camp and I didn't see them until it was almost too late. One of them said something about a Dermail, and then another one of them said something else and they took off. They've been following us for some time now, since before we came to the ring of moonstones and the alter." Wufei explained.

"Shadow walkers. They're called Shadow walkers, they feed off of spirits." Heero said, poking a stick at the embers in the fire, making sparks fly up before cooling off and turning to ash and landing on the ground.

"GREAT! That's just LOVELY! So now, not only do we have to protect this Mystic-what-cha-ma-call-it, save the all mighty-FALLEN Cinq kingdom, but we also have to put up with SOUL-SUCKERS? Oh that's it! I hated this half-baked plan from the start, but for some dumb reason it just seems to get worse and WORSE as the whole fucking day goes by!" Fiora said, pacing back and forth, waving her arms in the air like a lunatic.

"Pwa? Soul-suckers? But didn't Heero say that they were Spirit-eaters?" Felina asked.

"…I don't CARE about what they're called! All I know is that my soul is in serious danger with you people and I ain't about to risk what little of it that I have left because you all think that we're a bunch of long-lost heroes or some-such-shit!" Fiora yelled, still motioning with her hands.

"Ya know if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were CHICKEN Fiora!" Duo challenged.

"…Cluck, cluck, cluck… OF COURSE I'M CHICKEN! I'm feeling like a fish outta water! This whole mess has got me knocked for a loop I tell ya! And guess whose fault is that? YOURS!" Fiora said, pointing at him.

"Duo, Fiora, PLEASE stop fighting! Now isn't the time to be placing blame on anyone for any reason. Right now we have to get out of here while we still can." Quatre said, standing up to place his sword in his sheath.

"The only question is; where do we go?" Relena asked, picking up her orb.

"We can't backtrack to Cinq now, it's too far away and we still have things to do here." Jasmine said as she dusted off her robes.

"I guess that just leaves Mystic. We can get there from any place in the world with just a simple spell and we can return the same way." Felina chirped as she packed up her things and set them on the back of her horse.

"Alright, Mystic it is then." Quatre said with a nod.

"Right!" everyone agreed.

"Okay, let's see here… ah ha!" Quatre said as he fingered through his book of shadows before pointing at something on one of the pages and being to chant the ancient tongue. "Feim marleo, encota, lenkke, kalekale ayen!" he said, this voice echoing as his eyes flashed white and wind began to wrap around the party before shooting past the blonde spell caster and creating a large, blue, swirling, vortex in front of them.

"Holy fucking shit…" Fiora whistled.

"Let's go!" Quatre said, flicking the reigns on his horse and galloping into the vortex and disappearing.

"Quatre!" Jasmine called out as she rode off after him, the others not far behind.

On the other side, just as the last of them passed through it, the vortex sealed up after them, locking them inside the misty realm that was the forgotten isles.

______________________________________________________________________________ Yipes! Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up. I've been very, VERY, busy lately. I'm also sorry that this chapter is shorter then my usual, I just couldn't hold off anymore. This chapter is dedicated to my Role Play friend Ashley, for, I think, she it the only one that is ACTUALLY reading this fic lol ^_^; so yeah… you know the drill by now, Email to FioraEmbyr@aol.com bye!


	15. Dragonpetting

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first, thank you.

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 15

With fog so thick that even the brightest of torch flames wouldn't pass through it, they all dismounted from their steeds, splashing into knee-deep, lukewarm, water that they couldn't see.

"What a dump!" Fiora's screech-like voice echoed as she took in her surroundings. "You mean we have to protect THIS?" she added.

"It looks that way, Fiora." Jasmine said as she tapped the end of her staff under the water and started to rise up and levitate above it.

"Ew I hate wet boots!" Duo complained, pulling one foot out of the water, shaking it, and putting it back down into the water again before doing the same with his other foot.

"Unfortunately, Duo, I think we're going to have to live with it for the time being." Quatre said, shutting his book of shadows.

"Well, all I can say is that I'm not particularly fond of this place; it's far to easy for one to walk right into a trap, or an ambush." Wong glared, trying to see through the thick land-bound clouds.

Wufei nodded thoughtfully, his eyes scanning above the white smoke, into the armor-gray colored skies.

"Where do we go from here, Felina?" Relena asked, trying to lift up the bottom of her robes so that they wont get any wetter and at the same time, trying to make sure that they stay low enough so as not to show anything above her knees (back in those days, just showing anything above your ankles was considered "whorish").

"Hum…" Felina glanced around for a moment before pointing to the left of them, to which Duo said, "Figures, it's always the path that'll be the hardest to get past! That's gotta be the thickest part to this fog yet!" This only earned some groans from the others, and a smothered snicker from behind Fiora's hand.

They trudged along with Heero, Felina, and Fiora, leading the pack, as Heero and Felina knew which way to go and Fiora was used to having her boots sopping wet from living as a pirate her whole life.

As time wore on, they came to realize that there was no difference between night and day in the land of the forgotten isles; this was helpful because now they didn't have to worry about having to stop because of it being too dark to see. During this time Wong had somehow managed to light a torch to aid in cutting through the dense fog that wrapped around them as they went, coving their trail so well that, if they were to get lost, they wouldn't be able to find their way back. It was fortunate for them that they didn't need to, as Quatre held the book of shadows and the spell to make a portal back into the human realm.

Sleep would have to wait for them until they reached higher ground, away from the water, or to wherever it was that the dryads were leading them to.

"If we EVER have to walk through this place again, I'm building a RAFT! Ain't no pirate, dead or alive, dumb enough to walk through this place for hours on end like THIS!" Fiora complained.

"You are." Wong muttered, making the others, including Fiora, snicker.

"Eh Ha ha ha ha ha. Bite me JinChi." Fiora said as she twisted herself around to look at the Chinese woman and smirk before dropping to the back of their party, where Relena, Duo and Quatre were located, in an attempt to lighten the mood back there.

"Where is our destination, Heero?" Trowa asked from the middle of their pack.

"Demon Valley." Felina replied calmly.

"DEMON Valley? Why on earth would we want to be in a place like that?" Duo asked, having given up trying to keep his feet dry two hours ago, looking up from the warm, fog covered, water.

"It has more then just Demons." Heero stated.

"Such as?" Wufei questioned, raising his eyebrow slightly.

"Dragons." Felina replied with a smile.

Wufei and Wong seemed to perk-up slightly just then, almost looking excited at the thought of seeing the dragons from these lands, and, possibly, some Chinese dragons again. It had been so long since they had last seen a dragon.

"Dra-Dra-DRAGONS?" Fiora stammered, "Are you NUTS? Dragons KILL, I don't know what kinda backwards world you're from, but let me tell you this, I've seen what a Dragon can do, and it ain't PRETTY! Their teeth are like swords, their claws are like SPEARS, each and every one of their scales is alike a ten-fold shield, their wings are HURRICANES, the shock of their tails? THUNDER BOLTS! Yeah, I've seen what a dragon can do from the safety of my Daddy's ship; I've seen whole towns burnt to ashes in the matter of moments! All destroyed by a single Dragon! It's not pretty, it's not fun, and it's NOT SAFE to go waltzing up into a cave and go Dragon-petting!" Fiora yelled, her voice echoing through the great expanse that was the forgotten isles.

Silence reigned supreme for what felt like eternity; thicker then the fog that engulfed them, the only sound being the SLOSH-SPLASH coming from their feet and they meandered on. It wasn't a voice that broke the stillness of their talk, no; it was the unmistakable sound of flesh and bone coming into contact with flesh and bone.

SLAP!

Fiora blinked at the red-faced Chinese woman who, until just now, was always so calm and reserved before opening her swollen jaw and saying, "Gee, if ya didn't want me to say stuff like that ya couldda just said so." Wong only glared at her before turning and walking on with the others. Fiora hooked her thumbs in her belt and followed, a half-smile plastered on her face as she whistled a tune.

Felina heard it and dropped back to Fiora to hear it better. "What's that?" She asked.

"What's what?" Fiora asked.

"Mosses! What you were whistling." Felina exclaimed.

Fiora grinned, ignoring the bruising sting of her cheek, and replied, "I'll sing it once and then you follow, okay?"

Felina's eyes brightened and nodded.

"It's Welsh, the language from the land that I'm from, I'll sing it in English so that everyone knows what it means and then you follow." Fiora said as she closed her eyes, cleared her throat and began to sing: 

"A voice from time departed,  
yet floats thy hills among;  
Oh, Cambria! Thus the prophet bard,  
Thy Taliesin sung,  
'The path of unborn ages,  
Is traced upon my soul,  
The clouds which mantle things unseen,  
Away before me roll.  
A light the depths revealing,  
Hath o'er my spirit pass'd.  
A rushing sound from days to be,   
Swells fitful on the blast  
And tell me that forever  
Shall live the lofty tongue,  
To which the harp of Mona's woods,  
By Freedom's hand was strung. 

Green Island of the mighty,  
I see thine ancient race,  
Driv'n from their fathers' realm,  
to make the rocks their dwelling place.  
I see from Uthyr's kingdom,  
the sceptre pass away,  
and many a line of bards and chiefs,  
and princely men decay.  
But long as Arvon's mountains  
Shall lift their sov'reign forms,  
And wear the crowns to which is giv'n  
Dominion o'er the storms,  
So long their empire sharing,  
Shall live the lofty tongue,  
To which the harp of Mona's woods,  
By Freedom's hand was strung.'" (This is a real Welsh song called "A voice from time departed" also known as "Taliesin's prophecy")

Soon the whole isle was an echoing melody of Fiora, Felina, Jasmine, Relena, and Wong's voices. Making the time pass, seemingly, much faster. So much so that they didn't notice, with exception of Heero that is and Jasmine, who had to stop her floating spell so that she could walk in dry land, that the waters had reseeded and the fog faded away into green pastures, rolling hillsides, and endless spans of valleys and glens. It wasn't until Fiora had to stop singing because her throat was dry and when the sun peeked through the puffy clouds and touched their rosy cheeks that they realized that they had arrived and began to cheer, laugh, and hug the closest man to them, who just so happened to be Wufei who did not appreciate the gesture.

Having had their spirits lifted, they decided to relax the rest of the day away and so, with the sword-fighters, Heero, Quatre, Fiora, and Wufei, practicing with each other; Trowa and Wong perfecting their aim, Trowa with his bow and Wong with her Ninja stars, on a nearby apple tree; Relena, Duo and Jasmine teaching Felina all of the Human songs they knew and vise-versa; the day was quickly whisked away into night where everyone, with exception of Relena because it was her turn to keep watch, slept without a care in the world.

Relena smiled at them as she sat on the ground, her robes pooled around her and her orb glowing in the palms of her hands. Suddenly an idea came to her mind and she gazed into the orbs light and murmured, so as not to wake the others, "Show me my Brother and Lucrezia, please." she asked the glowing ball, not really expecting anything to happen, but, lo and behold, its pale blue light turned scarlet red and there, deep inside it was a small mirror-like pool that shimmered and appeared to be looking out from a campfire as Milliardo paced back and forth, saying something that Relena couldn't hear to Lucrezia and the circus-girl, Catherine; Relena leaned in closer to the orb and squinted to get a better look.

Unknown to her, one of her party members did woke-up from the bright red light coming from her spot next to the tree and was now watching her with the unusual look of curiosity in the Dryad's, Heero's, eyes.

"I miss them so much, I wish I could hear my Brother's voice again. Don't worry Milliardo, I won't let you down, I'll find who did this and put an end to their evil plot. Somehow, I just know I can do it; just hold on a little bit longer, I promise." she whispered into the orb as the image faded out and the red glow returned to that pastel blue once again as she slumped up against the tree, unconscious, the orb falling to the ground with her hand, rolling off of her fingertips before stopping halfway between her and the campfire. And Heero.

Heero stood up, letting his bear skin blanket pool on top of his make-shift bed, and picked up the orb and saw that, while it used to glow blue, its eerie light had all but disappeared, leaving only the faintest of white-light left. He rolled it around in his palms before gazing up at its keeper, the Princess Relena, who was taking slow, deep, breaths; she was fast asleep.

Carefully, so as not to brake it, he set the faintly glowing sphere deep within the bear skin on his bedroll, taking an extra blanket made of two wolf hides, and, taking long purposeful strides, glided over to the sleeping form at the foot of the tree and draping the coverlet over her and tucking it in at the sides to aid in keeping the warmth in before returning to his bed, retrieving the orb and placing it next to her before seating himself on the opposite side to keep watch of the others until morning.

It was to this strange feeling of comfort and the light of the sunrise touching her eyelids that she awoke to. Somewhere within her dream-clouded mind, she realized that she wasn't the one that put the warm pelt cover on her lean body. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and sat up and searched for her orb franticly, finding it nested in-between two large roots.

"You fell asleep and I put it there so you wouldn't lose it." a voice rumbled from behind her as she un-wedged the orb from its bed and turned to look into those depths of Persian blue.

"Oh no! Heero I'm sorry! I didn't realize that I had fallen asleep. One moment I was working with the orb that King Wynford gave me and then… I must have blacked out; I can't remember what happened after that. I'm so sorry, I promise it wont happen again."

"Don't worry about it. If it had to happen, I'm glad that it happened here, this is the safest place right now and, in fact, I was debating weather or not to have anyone keep watch last night." he droned out, watching the wind play in the high marsh grasses nearby.

They were silent from that point on as the sun rose steadily into the sky above and the creatures of Demon Valley came alive and began to forge for food.

"Oh! Heero, look!" Relena said, pointing at a flock of Unicorns as they galloped by.

Heero didn't say a word, nor did he move, for what seemed the longest of time, then, as if being controlled by some strange outside force, he stood up and walked up to one of the Unicorns that had stopped to watch the strange new beings in its homeland.

"Heero, where are you going?" Relena asked as she hurried to follow him.

If he heard, he never gave any indication of it as he stopped and extended his hand, palm facing up, for the Unicorn to smell, and to see that he meant no harm.

"Be careful Heero." Relena said, her voice trembling ever so slightly.

"I'm not going to hurt him Milady. I'm called Steadfast; what are you called?" the horn atop the Unicorn's head hummed, sounding almost Feminine.

"Wh-what? M-my name is Relena, Princess Relena."

"I've heard a lot about you Lady Relena, and a lot about your friends. Tell me, why are you here? It's not often that we had humans visiting our lands." Her horn hummed back.

"I don't know, Heero lead us here, but he hasn't said--" She was cut off by the most surprising of voices, Heero's.

"We need more powerful steeds then just horses to accomplish our goals." He said, seeming to have snapped out of his trance-like state.

"I would be honored if Milady would ride Me." the Unicorn hummed, closing her eyes and bowing her head slightly.

Relena blinked with surprise, she didn't really expect the unicorn to be willing to go, let alone allow someone to ride her. Heero, however, seemed to take this all in stride and nodded his consent.

"Go on; climb on my back Milady, I'm quite strong and you look to be very light." she hummed as she turned so that her said was in front of the human Princess.

"Alright, I'll need some help up." Relena stated as she fingered the white-silken locks of Steadfast's mane. Heero placed his hands around her waist, his finger tips almost touching, lifting her up and settling her back down on the Unicorn's back. "Thank you, Heero." Relena murmured, still slightly surprised by the strange tingling fire-like feeling that she felt when his hands made contact.

Steadfast didn't wait for the feeling to ware off, as soon as Relena had a firm grip around her neck with one arm, as Relena held her orb in the other, Steadfast galloped off, quickly catching up to the other Unicorns and soon passing them by in a what felt like nothing more then a whoosh of air.

It was about this time when the others had woken up and were now running over to Heero, who was staring down as his hands in the most curious fashion.

"Poor little kitten, he lost his mittens, and then he began to cry, 'oh Mama dear, see here, see here, my mittens I have lost'." Fiora sang with a laugh, Duo looked at her funny, making her laugh even harder. "Well, that's what it looks like!" she exclaimed.

"Was that what I thought it was?" Jasmine asked in awe, "Relena, riding on a…Unicorn?"

"Pwa! I want a Unicorn!" Felina chirped.

"This is hardly the time for joy-rides, if we are going to be going to Dragon caves like I think we are; we must be off shortly." Wong stated with a firm nod.

"We don't even know how far away the caves are, Wong, let alone weather we are going or not." Quatre reprimanded her.

"Quatre is right. Heero, perhaps you can tell us where we're headed to next." Trowa said, demanded more then asked.

Heero, almost as if hearing the others talking for the first time, lifted his head suddenly and glanced around at them before saying, "First we'll see if any of the other Unicorns are willing to go with us, then we'll head east, to Eagle Mountain then, from there, we go north, to Wolf-fang Forest, then we go west, to Crystal Dragon Caves, and then to Phoenix Downs; in the volcano in the south." He replied slowly, as if deciding on where they were going at that moment.

"Uh…. Question… WHY?" Fiora asked.

"Because, Heero said we needed help, powerful help, and this is the only place to get that, I think." Relena said as she and Steadfast came to a stop in front of them.

"Milady is right, this realm is the only safe place for beings like myself to be free from hunters, warlocks, and other beings that roam the human world." Steadfast hummed.

"WHOA! Check it out! The thing actually TALKS!" Fiora said, shocked.

"Yes, everyone, this is Steadfast; Steadfast, this is Fiora, Jasmine, Felina, Wong, Wufei, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and you've already met Heero." Relena said pointing to each one in turn.

"It is an honor to finally meet the Keepers of Mystic, you don't know how long we've waited for you to come here." Steadfast's reply hummed.

"Whoa, whoa, wait! Just what the hell do you peop…err… animals know about us? And who in the hell is WE?" Fiora asked.

"Only what the Tomes of Enchant have said Milady."

"I'm NOT a LADY! Don't call me that!"

"It does not matter now, Fiora, about who knows what. Right now we must get going; for the day appears to go by quickly in this realm." Wong said, noting that the sun was already high into the sky.

"I'll ask others of my family if they would come with us." Steadfast hummed as she turned, with Relena still on her back, and took off back to the heard of Unicorns before waiting for a reply.

Heero chose this moment to turn to the others and ask, "Are you all packed up?"

"Pwa! Yes, Heero." Felina chirped back.

"Good, we move out as soon as Relena and Steadfast get back over here." Heero ordered.

"Yes sir!" Duo replied, doing a mock salute.

Ten minutes later, with Relena and Steadfast returning with two other Unicorns named Willow and Blastfamous, they were on their way to Eagle Mountain.

It was rather easy to talk the other animals into going with them and soon they were nearing the Crystal Dragon Caves, Felina and Trowa upon giant wolves named Tigress and Trance; Quatre and Jasmine on the two other Unicorns; Fiora and Duo soaring above them all on magical Eagles that could change in their size at will named Hawkeye and Vertigo; and Heero, Wong and Wufei riding below on their, pitifully slow, horses.

"If what Fiora says is true about Dragons, I'm not so sure I want to go in there." Duo said as Hawkeye landed on to let him off before returning to a normal size before perching himself on Duo's right shoulder.

"Yes, but, when does Fiora EVER tell the truth?" Jasmine asked with a giggle as she dismounted from Willow.

"Hardy har, har. I just might be a little hurt… if it wasn't the truth!" Fiora laughed as she jumped from Vertigo's back and landed almost on all fours before standing up, waiting for Vertigo to land on her outstretched arm.

  
"Heero, after this stop we go to Phoenix Downs, right?" Relena called as Heero and the scholars finally caught up.

"Right." was all he said in reply as he swung off of his steed before it had even come to a halt.

"Pwa, now all of you stay out here with the other animals, okay Trance?" Felina asked the Wolf.

"As you wish…" Trance growled back.

"Milady, what do we do if something happens to you?" Steadfast hummed, the other Unicorns nodding in agreement.

"Running would be smart!" Fiora laughed.

"We would feel better if you didn't go charging in after us, please, just stay out here." Relena said, sending a glare in Fiora's direction.

"Can we get moving now?" Heero questioned, impatiently tapping his leather-boot clad foot on the well-compacted ground.

"Gonna jump into your own grave just as fast, Heero?" Fiora laughed. 

"Fiora!" Relena scolded.

"It's a JOKE!"

"Come on, let's go everyone." Quatre said as he walked into the cave with Heero, motioning the others to follow.

Everyone filed into the mouth of the cave and, with Wong making use of some wood to make a torch, stared in awe at its insides; lining the walls, ceiling, and floor were glimmering Quartz Crystals, long and prism-like, clear like the water from the falls hidden behind them. As the party traveled deeper, they came across a great chasm with only a small, narrow, Quartz Bridge to the other side; they stopped.

"Wow! Would ya look at how far this thing goes down?" Duo's voice echoed.

Felina grabbed hold of one of the crystals that was jutting out of the ground, leaned way out over the abyss and let out a long whistle. It echoed back at her.

Fiora, feeling up to giving everyone a fright, decided to kick a rock into it; it fell, and fell, and fell, and fell….

Silence.

Even with Heero's experienced hearing, he never heard the rock it bottom.

"…Now THAT'S a bottomless pit if I never saw…. Err… hear one." Fiora said, laughing uneasily.

"…" The others, needless to say, were not impressed.

This made the way across the bridge very unpleasant for those among them that didn't like heights, namely Wong, Quatre, and Jasmine. After making it across without incident, they fallowed a long corridor that turned slightly to the left and trailed down, into the glass-like chill of the deep.

"Why would a Dragon want to live here? It's so damn bloody COLD!" Fiora shivered.

"It has to get warmer the further we go down." Wong replied, doing her best to ignore the nipping cold.

"Yeah, well, it better! Nah! Or you're going to have to drag me out of here; I'll be too damned FROZEN to move!"

"I highly doubt it."

The rest of the hike on down was made in silence, half because they were trying to conserve heat; this being Wufei, Trowa, Wong, Heero, and Felina, the other half being too cold to talk; namely Fiora, Jasmine, Quatre, Relena, and Duo.

True to Wong's word, it did finally start warming up as they sunk deeper into the land below. As they went on, they found that the tunnel got increasingly larger until they couldn't see what was above them anymore.

"HEEEEELLLLLLOOOOOOOO!" Felina called, only to have her voice call back to her.

"Well, that was pointless." Wong remarked.

Suddenly, Heero stopped.

"What is it, Heero?" Quatre asked. Heero just raised his arm to silence him.

"Quiet, we're here." he replied, motioning his head upwards, they followed his gaze up into the blackness, where, for a moment, all thought that there was nothing to be seen within, but, as the shadows were parted, by the soft chanting of Quatre's spells, they saw the red-silver gleam of light falling upon Dragon scales.

"Holy mother, fucking, Chris--"  


"Don't use the lords name in vain, Fiora." Duo snapped, ending her colorful speech.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say!"

"Quiet!" Wufei said, silencing them both.

"For thieves, you two are ridiculously load." Wong said, glaring at them from the darkness of the room.

"Bite me!"

"Sshhhh…" Felina hushed.

"Well, here we are…" Jasmine started.

"But, what do we do now?" Relena finished for her.

"WHO GOES THERE?" a deep, rumbling voice called out from above.

"Good going Fiora, you woke it up!" Felina snapped.

"HEY! Why is it just MY fault? In case ya hadn't noticed, I WASN'T THE ONE TALKING!" Fiora yelled, her voice echoing around them.

"SHUT UP, FIORA!" everyone yelled back in reply.

"WHO GOES THERE?" the voice boomed out again.

"What do we say?" Jasmine whispered.

"I don't know." came Felina's chirp in reply.

"Well think of something soon. He doesn't sound happy to be waiting." Trowa remarked.

"It's not like you're making things any easier, Trowa!" Duo retorted.

"Um uh…. WE'RE THE KEEPERS OF MYSTIC!" Fiora called back at last, cupping her hands around her mouth to aid in carrying her already loud and shrill voice up to the being above.

This seemed to pacify him, as he slowly lowered himself to the ground in front of him, being mindful not to blow them away with the powerful whirlwind created by his wings.

"I AM CALLED MYOPE, THE MYSTERIOUS. WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT OF THE DRAGON KIN?" he said, his voice thundering so much that many of them had to cover their ears to stop them from ringing.

"WE NEED YOUR HELP! WE'RE ON A MISSION THAT REQUIRES POWERS SUCH AS YOURS TO COMPLETE IT!" Quatre called back, his ears still covered by his hands.

"WE ONLY NEED TWO OF YOUR KIN, WHO ARE WILLING, TO COME WITH US." Heero added, standing tall, unmoved by how the earth shook with the dragon spoke.

"VERY WELL. DRAGONS! COME TO ME!" he bellowed, the caved began to tremble and quake with replies.

Two smaller dragons caught Wong and Wufei's eyes; they were long and lanky, one tinted pure silver and the other a curious violet color, they were both lacking in wings, and yet, they seemed to float high above them; twisting and turning as they went. They were Chinese dragons!

Wong stepped forward as the two Chinese Dragons curled on the ground before them and began to speak in her native tongue to the two wingless beings. Wufei adding his say every now and then along with her.

Finally, after an hour or so of speaking in only Chinese, Wong turned to the other members of her party.

"This…" she directed her hand towards the silver dragon, "is Shou, and this…" she placed her other hand on the purple colored Dragon, "is Chwun; they have agreed to go with us." (Shou means, "Respect" and Chwun means, "Spring" in Chinese, I think…)

"Wong, we can speak their tongue as well." Chwun said, the English somewhat clumsy in her mouth. Wong simply bowed in understanding.

After all of the hellos and welcomes, they set off for Phoenix Downs, with Wufei and Wong leading the pack on the backs of Shou and Chwun.

"Well, that went well!" Fiora remarked uneasily as she and Vertigo caught up with the dragons ahead of them.

"It went well enough, Fiora, that's all that matters." Wong replied.

"Yeah, Fiora. And, after all, it could have gone worse." Duo said as he and Hawkeye matched speeds with them.

"It couldda gone better too, but that's besides the point! I'm just happy that wont be needing a gravestone just yet!" Fiora laughed.

"I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. We still have a long way to go." Wufei remarked, a slight smirk playing on his face.

"…That doesn't make me feel any better…" Fiora muttered.

________________________________________________________________________ Yipes! It's been FOREVER! But, I finally got it finished! Sorry it took me so long Ashley! Please forgive me! You know the drill, e-mail me, or review this fic at www.FanFiction.net byes!


	16. Splitting up

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first, thank you.

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

**__**

Chapter 16

Fire blazed, boulders tumbled into the volcano's depths, and melted rock flowed around the small, five-inch wide, stone bridge that was the only thing that still connected them to the tunnel leading out of the hellish pit and to their comrades. A banshee-shriek was heard above their heads of Mossy-brown and Golden-wheat.

"LET'S GET OUTTA HERE BEFORE THIS WHOLE CAVERN CAVES-IN!" Fiora yelled, as a rock fell too close to her for comfort.

"WE JUST CAN'T LEAVE THEM!" Quatre shouted back over the sound of spewing lava.

"WANNA BET?" came Fiora's jocular reply.

"NO! WE HAVE TO STAY HERE! WE CAN'T ABANDON THEM NOW!" Jasmine scolded, along with the liquid fire the continued to travel endlessly closer to their perch. 

"WHICH IS BETTER? LOSING TWO OF THE KEEPERS OF MYSTIC, OR ALL TEN?" Fiora screamed.

"REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS 'BETTER' WE MUST STAY HERE, TO ENSURE THAT WE DO NOT LOSE THEM!" Wong yelled back.

"IN CASE YA HADN'T NOTICED! WE'RE USELESS TO THEM LIKE THIS! IT'D BE A LOT SAFER OUTSIDE THEN IN HERE, AND BESIDES THAT; THERE AIN'T NOTHING WE COULD DO TO HELP THEM, EVEN IF WE WANTED TO!"

"PERSONALLY I THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER IF THE WOMAN DID GET KILLED. IT WAS FOOLISH OF HER TO RUN OVER THERE TO TRY AND HELP HIM TO BEGIN WITH!" Wufei remarked.

"FOOLISH OR NOT, I DIDN'T SEE YOU RUN OUT THERE TO HELP HIM! HEERO'S OUR FRIEND! NOW, UNLESS YOU PLAN ON DOING SOMETHING, I SUGGEST THAT YOU SHUT UP!" Duo snapped.

"Oh… no… HEERO! RELENA! LOOK OUT! BEHIND YOU!" Felina cried suddenly, making the others turn to see what was going on at the other end of the bridge.

The ghastly form of the firebird had encircled both Heero and Relena as they tried in vain to protect themselves from the creature's onslaughts. Relena with her orb raised high in her firm grasp as it shined an iridescent orange light all around them like a great shield and Heero with his sword drawn, waiting for an opening in-which to strike-out and put an end to the battle.

Things seemed to have gone from bad to worse since they had first climbed down into the volcano via a small cave opening halfway to the top. At first, many of them, namely Fiora and Jasmine, had welcomed the heat, but, as they gradually descended deeper, they began to have second thoughts at the fires licked at their boots and burning their soles. It wasn't until they had encountered the Phoenix, however, that all of them truly began to dread ever entering the godforsaken pit.

"Heero, I don't think I can--" Relena let her voice trail off as a bead of sweat slid down her tired face, confirming her worst fears; she was running out of strength.

"…Not much longer, just a little more." Heero murmured, more to himself then to her as the Phoenix began to shift and hover directly in front of them; baring it's unprotected chest.

"Heero…?"

"NOW!" Heero yelled as Relena let her shield drop and she fell to her knees as he raised his sword and charged, impaling the beast through the heart, all the way up to the hilt.

The bird let out a horrible wail as it's wings flailed and it hit the lava with a sickening SMACK! Before being devoured by it's own flames, leaving a lowly egg in it's place; which Heero quickly snatched up along with Relena as he made his mad dash across the narrow bridge to where the others were cheering.

"Way to go, man!" Duo exclaimed.

"Let's go!" was Heero's only reply as he sped past.

"WELL IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!" Fiora yelled as she, along with the others, rushed after him; the cave falling in on them as they went.

With large clouds of dust and smoke trailing out before them, they staggered to their mounts; who were, besides Heero's horse that had taken off running, waiting nervously for their raiders returns. 

"Milady!" Steadfast hummed as she saw Relena's body dangle in Heero's arms; Relena's hands, surprisingly, still held the orb tightly within their gasps.

"She's fine, she just wore herself out." Heero explained as he mounted onto Steadfast's back and had Quatre and Trowa hoist the almost dead Princess in front of him.

"Do we have it?" Quatre asked Heero as he climbed onto Blastfamous' back and took up the reigns, more out of habit then out of necessity.

"Yes." was Heero's reply.

"Pwa! When will it hatch?" Felina chirped as she snuggled deep into Trance's thick coat, gripping the hair around the wolf's neck tightly so as not to fall off.

"Soon enough." Heero said as he put the strangely small egg into a pouch around his neck and tucked it under his tunic to keep it out of sight.

"Quatre, Heero, are we ready to go back to the human world now?" Jasmine asked politely.

"If Heero thinks we have everything." Quatre said, making eye contact with the Persian blue-eyed Dryad, who only nodded his consent.

"Can we get going now? I'd hate to brake it to ya, but, in case ya hadn't noticed, your enemies didn't exactly decide to stop for TEA while we were on this little trip of ours, you know!" Fiora said as she shifted forward on Vertigo slightly, so as to make them both more comfortable as they took off and began circling the others from above.

"Wait!" Wong said as Quatre was just starting the incantation.

"Hum?" Trowa said, looking up at her as she and Chwun descended to the ground, so as to speak with the others easier.

"Where is it that we plan on going to once we do get back? And, more importantly, what do we plan on doing once we get there?" she questioned.

"Back to the fork in the road, I guess." Quatre said with a shrug.

"You mean so we have to camp out, AGAIN?" Fiora said with a groan.

"You seem displeased, Fiora." Wong remarked, a slightly amused tone in her voice.

"Look, all I know is that NOTHING happened when we did that last time, save for some SOUL-SUCKERS coming after our asses, and I don't think that there ever WILL be anything that'll come by… time has been so out of WHACK lately; it wouldn't surprise me if the soldiers had already moved out by now!" Fiora replied.

"She's right, as scary as that sounds--" Duo started to say.

"HEY!" Fiora cut in.

"--Anything could have happened for all we know!" he finished.

"I vote that we split up into teams and see what's happened; we will cover more ground that way." Trowa suggested.

"Right, we'll split up into four teams; Heero and Relena will go back to Cinq and see what's happened there; Jasmine and I will go to my Kingdom and rally my troupes; Felina, Trowa and Duo will go to Encatnta and see what they're doing; while Wufei, Fiora and Wong see what's going on in Benovia. Okay, are we ready to go?" Quatre said with a commanding tone.

"YEAH!" the others cheered.

"Let's do it!" He said as Blastfamous turned and, along with Jasmine and Willow right behind them, galloped off down the road to his kingdom.

Heero looked down at Relena's sleeping form and shifted her slightly so that she would be more secure before riding off, back down the path from which they came, to Cinq.

"You're not going to chicken out on me while you're without me around, are ya?" Duo asked Fiora tauntingly.

"Who in the hell could go chicken with two seriously mean-looking Dragons watching their ass?" Fiora replied with a laugh.

"Pwa! Watch out for yourselves!" Felina chirped.

"Same to you." Wong said back as they parted ways.

*****

Heero hadn't fully realized just how slow a horse was in comparison to a Unicorn until he had made it to the Alter in what seemed only mere moments.

'Halfway to the Cinq Kingdom…' he thought, making the mental note as he dismounted so that they could rest and, possibly, revive the princess.

"Milord…" Steadfast hummed, drawing his attention from Relena's unconscious form, which he had laid out on the forest floor.

"Hn?"

"Milady's magic hasn't returned yet, why is that?"

Heero didn't respond for a moment, he was pondering the best way in which to tell the Unicorn; whom had seemingly gown very attached to her rider in such a sort time. Heero returned his gaze to the body on the ground; her hair was singed slightly at their golden-wheat ends, her face was hot to the touch, weather this was because of the volcano or from a fever Heero didn't know, her brow was creased with a look of… 'Is it pain?' he asked himself, he couldn't tell.

"Milord,"

Heero snapped out of his self-induced trance once again, more then slightly shocked at now close his face had gotten to hers in mere moments. 'What was I doing?' he thought. "Was is it?" he questioned aloud.

"She's starting to wake up…" the unicorn hummed and, sure enough, when he looked back down at Relena, her eyes were just starting to flutter open.

"He-Heero? Are you all right? Or… are we dead?" she asked, surprisingly, not sounding at all afraid.

"Not yet…" was all he could reply, a strange lump had formed in his throat as he backed away from her several feet, he was still unnerved by the way her eyes looked at his.

"You're not hurt are you?" she asked, alarmed.

"No, I'm fine." was his reply.

She made a non-coherent sound 'Most likely a sound humans would make when in deep thought' Heero noted to himself. She pushed herself up into the sitting position and stared into her orb.

"Where are the others?" she asked after a few minutes of silence had passed.

"We split up; Quatre and Jasmine are going to his Kingdom to get his army ready; Fiora, Wufei and Wong are going to Treize's kingdom to see if they can learn something about our enemy while Duo, while Trowa and Felina are in Encatnta doing the same." Heero explained. (Please note that I misspelled Treize's name a long time ago and just now I've realized it, sorry!)

Silence fell upon them once again as Relena looked around them nervously, glimpsing the fairy altar not far away. "The Gate to the Fairy realm? Why are we here...?" she murmured under her breath. Her eyes widened suddenly, "That's why! Heero, are we going to see my Brother, again?" she asked out of the blue, making Heero jump slightly with surprise.

"Yeah." was all he said, once he had regained his composure.

"Heero?" she said softly, looking at him from under her bangs.

"What?"

"Did, did we… did we beat it?" she asked.

"Yeah…" he replied as he stood up off the ground and dusted himself off, trying to avoid eye contact with her. She somehow always seemed to look right through him when he didn't want her to, and it always happened when he would make eye contact with her.

"Well, where is it?" Relena asked, looking around for the firebird, curious as to how he could have hid such a large being so easily.

"Right here." Heero smirked as he pulled out the leather pouch from under his tunic and dangling it in front of her face.

"That's it? How did you get it all to fit in there?" Relena said as she tried to look inside before he snatched the pouch away.

"It's still an egg," he said, having the strangest urge to roll his eyes, Duo must have started rubbing off on him.

"It's an egg?" Relena blinked, completely lost.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"…" He wasn't in the mood for answering dumb questions.

"…Oh, well, we should be moving on then, right?" Relena said as she stood up, changing the subject.

"It's good to see that you're well again Milady." Steadfast hummed.

"It sure is." Relena beamed as she climbed onto Steadfast's back. "Heero, where's your horse?" she said, looking around.

"The poor thing got scared and ran off." Steadfast replied.

"Oh, Heero, I didn't know, you must have had to walk all this way while Steadfast carried me on her back! It's either that or…" she blushed a light shade of pink as she let her words trail off.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Heero said, staring off into the distance.

"No! Don't you dare tell me what I can, or cannot, worry about!" she cried as Heero started walking down the road, ignoring her. "Heero, stop it! You're not planning to walk all the way to Cinq… are you Heero?" she asked as she and Steadfast caught up with him.

He said nothing in reply.

"Heero, I didn't want to have to resort to this…but you leave me no choice! Heero, as the Princess of the Cinq Kingdom, I hereby order you to stop walking and ride with me on Steadfast!" she said, her eye gleaming with determination; she wasn't going to take "no" for an answer.

*****

"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Duo muttered as he swung himself into the small tower room via the window, being mindful to keep the hood on his invisibility cloak over his head; as that was the only way for it to be activated, and knocking out the guard that stood just outside the door. "You're the only one that has the strength to climb up there and still be able to fit through the window; they said. You're the only one with the invisibility cloak; they said. Well, you are the thief of the party, after all, you should know how to do these things; they said. Next time, I'll be sure to make myself scarce when they want someone to do their dirty work!" he grumbled as he picked the lock to a the door which held the room with the lever to raise the gate behind it.

"PISSST! GUYS!" Duo hissed out the window, after he flipped the switch, to the two shadows below. "Hurry up and get in here before they notice!"

"Right!" was all he got from Trowa for a reply as the two slipped through the gates as Duo began to shut them before going down to meet his companions.

"So, now that we're in here; what are we going to do?" He asked, looking around casually, trying to blend in.

"We look around and see what we can find, silly!" Felina chirped.

"Can you keep it down? Someone might hear us!" Duo whispered harshly.

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. Let's move." Trowa said as he turned and motioned the other two to follow him.

"So where to first?" Felina asked once they were inside the castle itself and out of clear view of anyone who might be wondering the halls.

"The War-room; it only makes sense that they would have what we're looking for in there." Trowa replied.

"Yeah, but don't you think that'd be a little too obvious?" Duo questioned.

"Maybe he's right, Trowa…" Felina whispered as they padded softly down the halls.

"We won't know that until we check." Trowa responded.

"Right." they said in unison.

"I think it's over here…" Trowa said, after a few minutes had passed them in the quietness that surrounded them, placing his hand upon a large set of double doors and turning one of the handles; it was locked.

"Here, let a master have a crack at it." Duo said with s smug grin as he strutted over and began to pick the locking mechanism; a faint click was heard and the door opened. "See? What did I tell ya? I'm the master."

"Let's get in and get out before we get found out; I'm starting to get nervous with all of this sneaking around." Felina whimpered, glancing over her shoulders, into the shadows behind them.

"Right." Trowa said as he hurried into the room and began looking through the papers, charts, and maps that were all chattered about on a huge table in the middle of the room.

"I can't even see in here well enough to know if I found something or not." Duo complained as he fought the urge to walk over to the window to get better light, knowing that he might get spotted by the guards outside if he did.

"We'll have to make due with what we've got, Duo." Felina chirped as she looked at one of the maps curiously.

"What did you find, Felina?" Trowa asked when he looked over her shoulder at the piece of parchment.

"I don't know, what do you think…?" she asked, handing it to him.

"Hey, guys! Look at this!" Duo said as he waved a small tome in their faces.

"What is it?" Felina said, forgetting her own findings.

"It looks like some kind of log-book; see here…?" he pointed at a page, "It's an entree telling about what happened at Cinq." he said as he began to read it aloud, fumbling every now and then at some of the longer words, as he wasn't very educated when he was littler. (Most people didn't know how to read back in those days, save for nobles, priests, scholars and the rare merchant.)

It read:

__

"Log 27,

We've arrived at the road leading into Cinq. Our commanding officer ensures us that our enemy doesn't know that we're coming. Some of my men aren't happy, by the time this is all over, we'll be no better then murders."

"Log 28,

He's dead; I can't believe he's dead. Orphic, the one who was acting as scribe, is… dead…many of us are dead; few made it out without suffering injury of some form. Keith tells me that a small boy felled him, a young lord perhaps, with a farmers scythe. 'Won't know what hit them' bloody fool was I; I should have seen it coming! I think that our great King Treize himself set us up! I'd smite him myself if I could only prove my accusations… Alas! They died in vain…"

"There isn't anymore…" Duo finished.

"King Treize? But he doesn't rule this country…" Trowa murmured his brow lined with deep thought.

"What do you mean by 'there isn't anymore'? There has to be…! What happened during the battle that we didn't see?" Felina questioned, frustrated.

"Do I look like I know?" Duo snapped.

"Hey! That's enough. We've got what we came for, let's get going." Trowa said, ending the fight before it had a chance to start.

"Fine…"

*****

"GO, GO! RUN!" Fiora yelled as she purposely knocked over an expensive looking vase as they ran past it and down the halls.

"Fiora, you do realize that that was a--" Wong started to say.

"I DON'T CARE HOW VALUABLE IT WAS! RIGHT NOW, IT'S AN EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE DIVERSION!" Fiora said, cutting her off.

"This is so cowardly, running like a bunch of mice!" Wufei scoffed.

"Yeah, well, DEAL WITH IT! Unless you want to become one with a noose, I'd suggest that you KEEP MOVING!" Fiora screamed as arrows were rained down at their backs as they turned around the corner.

"How much further until we meet up with Chwun?" Wong asked, as she looked back behind her; noting that the guards were gaining on them.

"Not close enough!" Fiora said as she skidded to a stop, Wong running into her from behind, knocking them both to the ground.

"What? Why did you…?" Wong let her sentence trail off.

Wufei had run ahead of them, making another turn before they did and meeting a group of solders that even he couldn't take out all on his own; they had already locked the shackles on him by the time Fiora had stopped.

"Well, well, just in time; you little girls come to play?" one of the men jeered, his eyed glazed over with lust as he licked his lips at the fallen pray.

"You Monster! You keep your filthy hands off them! YOU WEAKLINGS!" Wufei roared, struggling against his bonds.

"FUCK! Get off, Wong!" Fiora yelled as she pushed the slightly taller Chinese woman off of her and got to her feet. "STAY BACK!" she said, drawing her sword and, putting herself between them and Wong, who was just now starting to get back onto her feet, attempting to stare them down.

The guards behind the man just laughed at the little girl as her hands trembled, making her sword shake. "Well, would you look at that; the little girl thinks she's going to fight us!" he taunted.

"BITE ME ASSHOLE! You come as so much as a HAIR closer and I'll beat your UGLY FACE in!" Fiora spat, not about to back down.

Wong looked around for something that would distract them long enough for them to get away. Spying a large, draping, tapestry hung on the wooden beams above them; she quickly devised a plan.

"A little think like you? HA! What could a pitiful thing like you, do to me?"

"How about this?" Wong exclaimed as she hurled one of her ninja stars up above them, cutting down the tapestry and making it fall on top of the soldiers while Fiora; seeing what Wong was up to, dove into the throng and pulled Wufei out.

"Thanks for the help." Wufei said as he watched the man that had been taunting the women get tripped up in the cloth as they ran past him and down the hall.

"You're most welcome Master Wufei." Wong replied calmly as they jumped out the windows at the end of the hall and onto their respective mounts.

"Once we get to someplace safer, I'll try to get those chains off of you!" Fiora said with a laugh as she looked back at their pursuers and waved as they flew off into the distance. The sun just starting to rise behind them.

________________________________________________________________________ Okay, okay, so maybe this is getting a little old…I'm almost finished with this fic! *cheers* about, maybe, one or two, possibly three, chapters left! Now that you have an idea of who the enemy is; what do you think our heroes are going to do about it? Lol. I'd like to thank my reviewers, you guys are really all that's keeping me going on this fic. You know the drill, e-mail or Review on FF.net, byes!


	17. We make way to Cinq

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first, thank you.

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

**__**

Chapter 17

"I can't believe they won't let us in. Are your soldiers that protective of you?" Jasmine asked as she made herself comfortable on a nearby stump.

"Only Rashid and his men, the others don't know me well enough to care, I think." came Quatre's reply as he paced back and forth in front of the castle gates impatiently.

"Quatre?"

"Yes, Princess Jasmine?"

Jasmine frowned at him playfully, "Really, I thought that we agreed not to use titles." she scolded him.

Quatre chuckled despite of the seriousness of the situation. "Yes, you're quite right. You wanted to ask me something?" he replied, changing the subject.

"Yes…I did, didn't I? Quatre, my mother lied to me didn't she?" Jasmine asked, tugging on the hem of her sleeve nervously. She was trying to avoid eye contact.

"…Well, that depends, what do you think she lied about?" he said with a sigh as he sat down next to her. She shifted over to make more room.

"About--about how you just wanted to meet me, and how we wouldn't have to get married." she stammered softly.

"Somehow I just knew that was what you were going to ask. Yes, she did; but it wasn't her fault! I asked her to. I didn't want you to think that you had to try to be anybody that you're not in front of me, I wanted to see who you really were without having to worry about trying to see through any of the deceptions that you might have used had the situation been different." he explained.

"So you knew then, you knew all along that, in the end, we still would have had to get married. Quatre, what would have happened if we didn't like each other like we do? What if we hated each other? I couldn't bear to live in a loveless marriage! And, with you being a King, it would also go without saying that you would need a son, someone to inherit the crown, I don't think that I could… So is the way with those born of royal blood, but it doesn't seem right though, to have to give up on the thought of love and being wed to a perfect stranger, so young, it isn't right." She said, tears teardrops rolling down her cheeks, her dark green eyes met his light blue, as if speaking without saying a thing.

Somewhere in the backs of their minds they noted how the birds chirped, how the sun beat his rays down on them, and how the waves crashed upon the seashore; for one fleeting moment all in the world seemed so right, like none of the things that had come to pass in these few months never happened.

"Prince Quatre! I came as soon as I heard the news!" a large, broad-shouldered, man with black hair and brown eyes dressed in the typical Knight's garb said as he walked through the gate and over to the tree stump.

"Rashid! You're a sight for sore eyes." Quatre replied as he stood up and embraced the man in a friendly hug.

"You must be Rashid, I take it." Jasmine said with a warm smile as she stood up before taking his hand for him to kiss, as was the custom for gentlemen to treat a lady.

"Yes, I am. And you would be--"

"Oh! My manners, Rashid, this is Princess Jasmine." Quatre said, blushing from embarrassment.

"Princess! I'm honored to meet you!" Rashid said, dropping to his knee, bowing.

"Please, stand, I do not wish to be treated any different by you then you would treat Quatre, Sir Rashid." she said, taking the heavily-built man's hands, motioning him up.

"You are far more kindly then your people have said, Princess," he replied.

"I thank you, you flatter me, but time is of the essence, I'm afraid." Jasmine said sorrowfully.

"Yes, Rashid they are." Quatre said, looking up at his most trusted Knight, his voice firm and gaze commending.

"Your orders Your Majesty?" Rashid said, dropping his almost non-existent smile, going deathly serious.

"Rally the troops."

*****

"No."

"Heero, will you stop being so stubborn!"

"I said; No."

"Quit being such a big baby and hurry up! We haven't the time for this!"

Heero fought the urge to groan aloud. 'Why does it seem like nothing is going the way I planed?' he thought as he grudgingly climbed onto Steadfast's back behind her and removed the reigns from her grasp. "Fine. But you still need to sleep." he said, glaring down at her.

"I can't sleep while I'm riding! What if I fall off?" Relena cried.

"I'll be careful and, if you start to slip, I'll stop Milady." Steadfast hummed.

"I won't let you fall." Heero added, shooting a glare at the back Unicorn's head as he placed his arms to that they were on either side of the princess so as to grip the reigns better; or so he told himself.

"…I'll try…" was all Relena said, knowing that she lost that battle.

"To Cinq?" Steadfast hummed, craning her neck to look at them, noting Relena's drooping sky colored eyes and Heero's cloudy blue ones.

Heero nodded as they galloped off, the pouch around his neck swaying in time with Steadfast's hoof pounds.

Relena sat as upright as possible, watching the scenery flow by like a river, being mindful of the man-- 'No, Dryad.' she corrected herself-- behind her. A slight blush tinged her cheeks at the thought of lying back against his well-toned chest and tensed up.

"Milady needs to relax." Steadfast hummed, she hadn't even broken a sweat yet even though she was traveling at her fastest pace.

"I'm really not sleepy. You don't have to worry, I'll be just fine." Relena insisted, feeling like she was being treated like a little child. Heero said nothing.

Upon nearing the ruined Kingdom, Relena glanced around the forest, silently admiring the few snatches of the view that she could, the wind howling in her ears and the heat from her companion behind her slowly lulling her to sleep. She didn't even realize when she leaned into him, her head resting just on the edge of his shoulder.

"There is a cave not far from here where we might find the King, it's somewhere along the coast." Heero's voice rumbled. 

Idly Relena's eyes opened. 'I must have fallen asleep.' she thought, noting the barren wasteland that she had become to recognize as, her poor kingdom, Cinq. "Here already? Steadfast you are a marvel." Relena murmured as she fought with her body, sore from riding and sleeping in such an awkward position, to slightly more upright. Failing to notice the slight scowl Heero reserved for Steadfast once again.

"Thank you Milady, but it was little trouble." the unicorn hummed, with a strangely smug sound in her voice.

'What on earth did I sleep through?' Relena thought in mild shock when she looked up at Heero and saw how his glare only deepened at Steadfast's tone.

"We can walk from here." Heero said suddenly, distracting her from the direction her thoughts were headed, as he dismounted, trying his best not to brush against her any more then necessary. Relena had to fight with her nerves just to keep from shivering as leaned over so close to her neck that she could feel his hot breathe.

"R-r-right." she stammered once he had himself set firmly on the blood-stained ground and was shocked when he held out his arms to her, so as to help her get down. "T-thank you." she whispered as he wrapped his hands around her tiny waist and set her down.

If he heard her he gave no indication other then the cool, unsettling gaze, of his dark Persian blue eyes before turning away and leading them down into the ruined city.

"This is your Kingdom Milady?" Steadfast hummed as she lagged behind, trying to avoid sharp and painfully pointed rocks.

"Was. It was Cinq, now it is just a grave yard for the forsaken." Relena replied sadly, stepping over a body of a general, stopping to close his vacant eyes while Heero looked on.

*****

"I can't believe you ACTUALLY LET them put these things ON you! Jeez!" Fiora griped as she kneeled in front of Wufei in a clearing and began trying to pick the locks.

"Are you sure you know what you are doing?" Wong questioned as Fiora's fingers nearly dropped one of the thin, delicate-looking, picks.

"Sure I'm sure! I'm just not as good at this stuff as I could be, picking locks ain't exactly one of those things that a Pirate needs to master, ya know!"

"No, I don't know, I'm not a Pirate."

"Yeah, I kinda noticed!" Fiora laughed. "What I mean is, we don't usually waste our time trying to pick locks… most of the time we just smashed them and be done with it!"

"That's fine, but for now you are going to just pick them if you don't mind." Wufei said with a smirk, he couldn't help but not notice the humor of the situation.

"Sure, sure!"

"This wouldn't have happened if you didn't open your big mouth in the first place, Fiora." Wong stated.

"I wouldn't have HAD to open my big fat mouth if YOU hadn't bumped into that table!"

"I didn't 'bump' into anything. You hit that table with your hand while you were ranting and raving about your 'skills' in stealth." Wong snapped.

"I wasn't ranting! I was telling! And, I'll have you know, I do NOT move my hands when I TALK!" Fiora yelled, failing her arms in the air.

"Yes you do." was all that Wong could say without bursting with laughter. Fiora's personality was really starting to rub off on them.

"No, no I don't, only when I'm yelling!" Fiora replied with a laugh as she twisted her pick and the lock on the first of the shackles came open.

"I'm more interested in how we didn't run into Treize. Why wasn't he at his castle?" Wufei questioned once the other shackle was removed and he rubbed his wrists to ease the burning chafe that they made.

"Good question! Why would there be a counsel meeting without the King? That's what I want to know!" Fiora said as she stood up, knocked the dust off of her knees with her hat and returned her picks to a small pouch sewn into the inside side of her vest.

"I don't know. But he wasn't in the castle that much is for certain." Wong said, her arms crossed over her chest and her head bowed in deep thought.

"You know what? Something's been egging me for the LONGEST time; why in the hell would he wage war with an ally? And what's more! He downright murdered them all with the way that he went about it!" Fiora said, scratching her head.

"Well, either way, we best are getting a move on so we can tell the others what we've found out." Wufei said as he climbed onto Shou's back as the two made their way for their steeds as well.

"You are right about one thing Fiora." Wong said as they rose up into the air.

"Oh, and what's that?" Fiora asked as she and Vertigo matched speed with the dragons and their riders.

"Something isn't adding up. We're missing something to this riddle and I am willing to bet that Trowa, Duo, and Felina know what that something is." Wong replied.

"I don't know about that, Wong, but they just might be able to tell us something anyway." Wufei said as the watched as the moon came out from behind the clouds, lighting their way.

"Eh… I'll just take you guys' words for it… It's a just a tad bit too heavy for me to figure, personally." Fiora laughed, not fully understanding what the two scholars meant and turning her attention to the ocean in the distance. 'Just can't help but wonder if my kinfolks are all right while all this is happening. Wonder if there ever will come a time when we pirates are forgotten like most of the other mythical critters on earth… will we be lost too? What happens when Magic dies anyways?' Fiora thought, her face strangely more serious then it at ever been for moment before she shook her thoughts away and forced a laugh past her lips and turned to look at the Chinese pair and said, "RACE YA!" as she and Vertigo sped up with Shou and Chwun trilling behind her.

*****

"Ugh! Where ARE they? I thought that they wouldda been back by now! So why aren't they here yet?" Duo grumbled as he scuffed the toes of his boots into the hard-packed dirt trail.

"Take it easy, their roads were much longer then ours was, it is only natural for them to take longer." Trowa replied for the fifth time that morning, Duo was starting to wear in the acrobat's nerves.

"So you claim. But we've been sitting here for hours and we still haven't seen a sign of any of them!"

"Pwa, do you think they were captured?" Felina chirped.

"Relena and Heero, maybe. Wufei, Wong, and Fiora? Possibly. But Quatre and Jasmine? I doubt it."

"But if they aren't back by now, then what's taking--"

"Sorry we're a bit late!" Quatre's voice called out, effectively cutting Duo's off.

"We got rather tied up. Quatre's many sisters all wanted to give us each a hug and a kiss farewell. All twenty-nine of them." Jasmine added jokingly.

"At least you didn't have to put up with the five different versions of 'I will kill you if something happens to my sister' from your brothers. They apparently got worried when they hadn't heard from Jasmine in quite some time and decided to see if she was okay." Quatre explained with a smile.

"Eeep! No wonder you took so long!" Felina exclaimed.

"Yes. But we were also delayed because we had to wait for Quatre's army to get ready." Jasmine said.

"No kidding? Wow! You got those guys moving? So where are those slugs?" Duo asked bitterly, he was never fond of the King's men.

"Slugs, Duo?" Quatre asked, haven't never really known about much about Duo's real past.

"You didn't take your law-enforcers along, did you?" Duo questioned in his cryptic way.

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Oh just that I've seen what they do to your people in order to 'uphold the law'." Duo replied with a shrug of his shoulders as he turned to walk away.

"Duo, what do they do? I honestly don't know, please, my friend, wont you tell me? I promise I'll do everything in my power to put a stop to it." Quatre asked.

"No. It's okay; we can always deal with that later. It's not they are going anywhere. Well, now all we have to do is wait for Wufei and this group to get back and then we can try to meet up with Heero and Relena." Duo said, changing the subject.

"But- but I--"

"Hey, don't sweat it! Like I said before, we can deal with it later."

"Oh, alright." Quatre said, giving up.

"I STILL SAY THAT IT AIN'T MY FAULT!"

"SAY WHAT YOU WILL, IT STILL WAS!"

"SAYS WHO?"

"ME."

"HA! YOU AND WHAT ARMY?"

"WILL YOU TWO WOMEN JUST BE QUIET?"

"Well, sounds like Wufei and the girls are back." Duo snickered loudly as Wong and Fiora came tramping through the brush with an extremely annoyed Wufei right behind them.

"Hello, Wufei. Hello Wong. Hello Fiora. Did you have a good trip?" Felina asked as she pranced up to them, her feet almost not touching the ground.

"SHUT UP!" all three of them replied at the same time, although Fiora was the only one that was laughing.

"…I'll take that as a 'no'." Felina said as she slowly turned around and walked away from them. They were obviously still very high-strung from the whole experience.

"No! YA THINK?" Fiora asked the female dryad, sarcasm practically dripping from her lips.

"Your majesty. We are ready to move out at anytime, what are your orders, sir?" a dark haired knight dressed in fully body armor asked, bowing to Quatre.

Fiora jabbed Wong in the ribs with her elbow. "Pissst! Check it, I bet when that guy sits down he can't get up again!" she laughed.

"You make far to many assumptions, Fiora." Wong replied in the same hushed whisper.

"We make way to Cinq."

______________________________________________________________________________ I know, I know! This is beyond late! And I know it's shorter then Fiora standing in three-foot-deep pit (she's not even five feet tall, after all people! Think about!) But I tried, honest I did! You know the drill, review on FF.net or just e-mail me. Oh! And please, do me a HUGE favor and check out my FF.net profile, in it is a list of Fan fiction ideas that I want to try out but I want you guys to decide for me on which one I should do AFTER I finish What if: Myth which is, by the way, almost done! Whooohoo! Lol


	18. Vision pond

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first, thank you.

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 18

"Princess Relena, Heero, wh-what are you doing here? Where are the others? Are they all right? What of my brother, Trowa?" Catherine's alarmed, melancholy, said as she made her way over to them, stumbling over the rubble.

"Lady Catherine; we came to see my brother, is he well? From what I heard last from Heero, the others are still alive, but I don't know of their conditions for I was asleep when Heero and I departed their company." Relena replied, her voice slightly rough from holding back the unwanted tears, as she stood up from her crouched position beside the soldier's corpse.

"Princess… The King is well and is currently hiding where I dare not take you for fear of your life. I will show you to Queen Lucrezia." She said, taking the emotionally numb princess's hand, turning around and making her way down a rather steep slope, into a small ravine that, when followed eastwards, lead to what was left of the old castle's walls and into what looked to be what remained of a hidden passage way.

"I've never been in here before, and we have lived here since before my brother and I were scarcely a glimmer in our mother's eye." Relena whispered ever-so-softly in the echoing tunnel that opened up at the other end into what looked to be an old wardrobe closet in one of the guest chambers.

Heero didn't seem to have ears for hearing things lacking in importance. Preferring to just lead Steadfast in behind them by the reigns and taking note on how well the room had stood up to an attack that had obliterated nearly everything in its path.

"Stay here while I go and fetch her." Catherine said, curtsying slightly before exiting out the nonexistent door at the far side of the room.

"What do you suppose we do if Lucrezia can't think of anyone, Heero? Do we go back empty handed?" Relena asked, trying to end the vow of silence, which they had unknowingly made, between her and the dryad-man.

"If that is the case, then we have no choice, we can't waste any more time then necessary." Came Heero's sparse reply.

"Heero?" Relena asked, drawing his attention from the stone of the walls that he was staring at blankly for a few moments.

"Hn?" He said when she didn't continue.

"What do-- Oh never mind, it's nothing important." Relena mumbled, shaking her head, her golden-wheat colored locks swaying slightly along with it.

"What?" He demanded, eyeing her carefully.

"It's just that I've been wondering, wondering what it is that Dryads eat. You and Felina never have anything we have, and I don't want you two to go hungry when they is something that I could do about it." Relena replied, looking up when she felt her gaze upon her.

Heero's back straightened slightly, a sign that went not unnoticed by Relena, and his jaw slackened from what looked to me mild shock. He was taken aback by her concern for himself and his kin; most humans just don't care enough to want to help, even if there wasn't anything for her to do to, Dryads couldn't stomach human food even if they wanted to, which he didn't.

"I'm sorry, I made you nervous. Just forget I said anything." Relena said as she turned to look away from him once again. Suddenly preferring to watch Steadfast take a nap on the cold, gray stone, floor.

Heero walked over to the tiny window, cut into the rock, at one end of the room and peered out, taking in the view and the smell of the sea breeze carried in by the gentle wind as it caressed his cheek and the sun's heat kissing his bronze skin. Somewhere in the back of his mind he might have heard himself respond with the word: "Sweet." but he never took any notice as he, for once just let the words flow.

"What?" Relena asked, looking at his backside as he still faced the window, his body bathing in the sun's afternoon glow, softening his harsh features and giving him an almost child-like quality to his otherwise deadpan face.

"We like things sweet, and fruits, Felina epically likes fruits."

Relena giggled. 'Why am I not surprised?' she thought. "What do you like, Heero?" she asked after she had calmed herself slightly.

He seemed to be in deep thought, for what seemed like eternity to Relena, as he mauled over the words as they ran through his head. "Pastries" he said after a time.

"What kind?"

"There is no name for it in English."

"What is it like?"

"Sweet."

"And?" Relena prompted as she stood up and inched her way closer to him, his back still facing the side of the room.

"Nuts. It has nuts and a thing that you would call 'butter' and sugar cane juice to make it sticky." He replied with a slight smirk that toyed at his lips for an instant before fading away once again.

"Announcing her royal high--" Catherine started to say as she rushed in but froze in place when she saw the dryad and the princess so close, at first glance she had thought that they were looking at something outside, but then she noticed that their eyes, while the rest of their bodies were facing the window, their eyes were locked in what looked like a stare shared by only those that cared greatly for the other. 'But, is it love?' Cathy thought.

"Princess Relena! What are you doing here?" Asked Lucrezia as she glided in, the yards of cloth from the skirt of her dress trailing behind her.

Relena turned around slowly to face her sister-in-law, her brother's life-mate. "We came because we had a question to ask Milliardo, but, as I can see, he is no longer here. Please, Lucrezia, do you know of anyone, anyone at all, who would have conspired against our kingdom, us?" Relena asked, her head high, her voice calm and determined. Everything that she was at that moment was the epitome of strength. It was then that the queen realized just how much the dear-hearted and somewhat spoiled maiden that had run off that time long ago, chasing after the dryad that now stood beside her, had changed.

Lucrezia stood and thought, 'How her brother would be so shocked to see her now, he most likely wouldn't recognize her.' a smile tugged at the queen's lips at this, 'His sad, lonely, little sister is all grown up, all without us even realizing it.'

"My Queen?" Cathy said, drawing her majesty's attention onto other things.

"Oh, OH! Yes, right, forgive me. I'm sorry, but I don't know of anyone who would have wanted to take--"

"They have arrived." Heero cut in, staring out the window to the north.

Relena whipped her head around and peered out over the horizon and there, just appearing beyond the clouds came what looked like two birds, 'no, wait… those birds have no wings!' Relena thought, her mind reeling with surprise. They were Wufei and Wong's Dragons, with them riding upon their mythical creatures' scaly backs. 

"My gods! What are they?" Catherine asked as she and the queen squeezed between the other two to see.

"Look Heero, I see the others just behind them!" Relena exclaimed.

"Who? Princess, what are you…" Cathy's eyes opened wide, and she stammered, realizing what the Princess meant. "Tro-Trowa? You mean that the others are…Oh my god! TROWA!" Catherine screamed when she saw her adopted little brother riding down the hillside on a large gray wolf.

"They aren't alone." Heero stated as he raised his hand over his brow in an attempt to shade his eyes from the sun as it set in the west, on his left hand side.

"You're right Dryad. It looks to be almost a whole army is behind them." Lucrezia said, squinting her eyes through the sunny glare.

"Trowa, and Felina, it's them!" Catherine cried, tears of joy falling from her eyes.

"My lady, we should hurry and meet up with them…" Steadfast hummed, making Catherine and the bluish-black haired queen jump, having not known that the unicorn could talk.

Heero nodded in agreement, vaguely noting the harm burning feeling that was coming from the egg's pouch hidden under his tunic.

"Alright. Lady Catherine, Sister Lucrezia, I want you both to go and find a safe place to hide and, if possible, tell my bother not to worry, everything is going to be okay." Relena said, trying to set the two women's minds at ease.

"But what about you?" Lucrezia ask, alarmed that her dear husbands sister might be going into battle, into war, defenseless.

"I'll be fine! Just go! NOW!" Relena said, giving them a push out the door before grabbing Steadfast's reigns and heaving herself onto the unicorn's back. "Heero! Get on, we have to hurry!"  


Heero nodded curtly and pulled himself up in front of her saying, "I don't want you do be in the front for this, you would be safer behind me." 

The blue-eyed princess smiled slightly in thanks and quickly wrapped one of her arms around his waist while her other held her orb, which had started to glow an intense maroon. "Right, let's go Steadfast!" she said, nudging the Unicorn's sides with her feet, a habit that she still needed to brake, and held on tight to the Dryad in front of her as they sped off, back into the hidden passageway and back out onto the all-too-soon battle-field-to-be.

*****

Whilst the princess and the fairy king's favorite, among the males at any rate, made way to their comrades, their friends, and soon battle, the queen was also waging war, against herself and the words of her beloved.

'Oh Zechs, why did you have to go back to that? Did you know that you would end up being your sister's enemy? You had to have known, you did know, but… will she? Princess Relena, you mean so much more to me then just my husband's kin, you are more a sister to me then any of my closest living relatives, I love you and your brother more then anything in this world, though you will have to forgive me for not loving you at the same level as he. If anything should happen to either of you, I would surely die! …I have to warn them, I just have to! And I will, SOMEHOW!' she thought, tears coming to her eyes, but because of her constant blinking them back, they never fell. A queen must remain strong at all times, no matter how hopeless the situation.

Unfortunately or fortunately, these same rules did not apply to common circus performers. Otherwise the maiden, Catherine Bloom, would have tried a little harder to hold them at bay. But, alas, some things are just too much for the ever-loving heart of the knife thrower and so the dam broke while she, and the woman whom she had begun to call her majesty, ran back to the safest place they could think of, the only place they could think to go where only their friends would find them when the battle came to an end, the cave by the sea shore, where waves crashed upon the sand as calming as a mother's lullaby to her sleeping infant child.

No words were passed between the maiden and the queen as the entered the cave and made their hiding place safely behind the rocks furthest from its mouth. Nor were any shared as Catherine started a small blaze to warm their sore feet. Not one of them wanted to share their fear, their dread, over what was to become of the others, they just sat, and waited for whatever end to come.

*****

"Well, if this don't beat all! Hey princess!" Duo called from atop Hawkeye once he realized that she was seated behind the unstoppable Dryad soldier on Steadfast's back. At first he had been worried that she had died while Heero traveled with her in his lap and he upon Steadfast, headed for the destroyed kingdom where they were now, but, once the man with the long chestnut braid flew over the unicorn and her riders below, he saw that she was indeed alive and well.

"Hello Duo!" She called back, looking straight up at him and waving with her orb-hand, the orb glistening red in the setting sun's light.

"Why you sly dog! I knew it! I knew it! I shouldda said something, figures that the one time that I keep my mouth shut is when I'm right! Heero, you getting mighty close to her highness! You sure there ain't something between you two that we don't know about yet?" Fiora laughed as she circled them overhead.

Heero pretended that he didn't hear the foolish pirate woman above and had Steadfast pick up speed, quickly catching up with the land troops.

"It's good to see that both of you are well." Quatre said as Relena got off and Heero dismounted after her.

"We are alive, yes, but I can't say the same about being well." Relena replied, "We couldn't find my brother and Lucrezia couldn't answer our question."

"That's a shame, I do hope that King Milliardo is alright. But we do have some good news, we know who our enemy is now." Quatre said, trying to cheer them up.

"Who?" Relena asked.

"You'd be surprised!" Fiora said, "Turns out that Kingie has a back stabber." she laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"What Fiora means is that King Milliardo has been betrayed." Wong answered.

Relena shook her head "no" and said, "That's not what I meant. Who is it?"

"King Treize." Trowa supplied, his voice blank of his feelings towards the situation.

"Guys!" Came Wufei's call as he and Shou floated over from the northwest. "I found their camp!"

"Good, thank you Wufei! How far off is it?" Quatre asked.

"Not much more then a mile or so!"

"Okay. Rashid!" Quatre said, turning Blastfamous slightly so that he could make eye contact with the knight.

"Your orders, sir?" Rashid asked, stepping forward, bowing with respect.

"We will attack the camp and try to seize it, I want you and your men to charge in from the weakest point in their defenses. I don't want any of you to be killed, so watch out for yourselves! MOVE OUT!"

"You heard the man! MOVE!" Rashid ordered his men.  


"Wufei show them the way, please." Quatre said, looking up at the Chinese warrior, who nodded and floated off with the army riding on their horses behind him.

"Where are the rest of us going?" Trowa asked, leaning over on Trance so that he could rest his elbows on top of the wolf's head. Trance have him a sour look from below.

"We make the main charge, while Rashid and his men are attacking they wont notice us slipping in and destroying them from the inside out."

"That's provided that your soldier's last long enough." Wong said.

"That is a risk that we will just have to take. I have faith in my men, they won't falter." Quatre said, determined.

"PWA! Time is wasting! If we're going to sneak in, we should do it while there is still time!" Felina chirped.

"Right, let's do it!" Quatre said as he and the other's rode off.

Heero pulled himself onto Steadfast's back once again and then, reaching out a hand to the princess, helped Relena up behind him before taking off after the others.

"Heero?" Relena's voice asked calmly.

"Yeah?"

"You aren't going to die, are you?"

"If that's what it takes to succeed--"  


"DON'T SAY THAT!" She cried.

Heero's eyes widened slightly with shock but quickly recovered, pulling his emotionless mask back into place.

"Don't. Say. That. I don't want you to die for this! It's not worth it. Promise me that you won't get killed!"  


"…"

"Promise me Heero! I don't want you to die fighting for a kingdom that you couldn't care less about. I don't want you to fight for something that you don't believe in.," she said, sobbing quietly onto the back of his tunic.

"I'm not," he said, stopping her cries suddenly, his words sinking in.

"You're," she whispered softly to herself.

"The time has come for the Humans to rule, even now the magical beings of this world are moving on, into the next, their power's weaken while the Humans' only increases. I believe that if we can end this, your people who, from what I've seen in you, are peaceful and care more about outsiders then of themselves. I believe that this is the way all of human-kind should be, so I will protect it with the every breath in my body." he said, stopping steadfast just before the battle field began and getting off, leaving Relena to sit upon her steed, numbly taking everything in.

"Heero, I- I don't know what--" 

"Believe in me, I'll come back." He cut her off as he drew his sword.

"You don't know that--" she tried to interject.

"Trust me." he cut her off once more.

"Yes, yes of course Heero. I trust you. I promise." she said after a time, their eyes locking but for an instant before he turned and ran off. "I trust you Heero, yes I do." she said as she watched him go before having to block an attack from a man in gold armor upon a horse with the energy from her orb while Steadfast sped off, getting them both away from the soldier as quickly as possible.

"Milady, we must focus on the battle." the Unicorn hummed.

"Yes, but, what can I do? I can't fight! I don't know how!"

"Then we must protect the others that can." the Unicorn replied.

"You're right. Let's go!" Relena said and Steadfast lunched them into the middle of the throng, where swords clashed and arrows soared, where blood, sweat, and tears were the only things that truly lived in then end of it all. 

Relena watched out for her fellow party members and aiding them when necessary, Trowa and Felina, along with Tigress and Trance, fought back-to-back style with Trowa firing arrows while Felina's flute played a haunting melody that seemed to make them rather hard to see, as it appeared to be casting a yellowish cloak over them. 

Shou and Wufei looked busy, while the Chinese Ninja hacked and slashed his foes down with his lightweight sword, Shou was swooping down and snatching up a light snack of gold-clad men. 

Wong took a different approach, choosing to hurl the silver throwing stars down from atop of Chwun, who had also taken a fondness to Knight-meat, her orange eyes glinting dangerously in the sun's setting light. 

Duo must have been making good use of his cloak of invisibility as, when Relena looked to her left, she saw soldiers being cut clean in half by an unseen blade, with exception of the green fire-like glow that trailed behind it after it had been swung, and Hawkeye circling above. 

Fiora was spotted by the many times by the princess and her steed as they ran through the clashing armies. The Mahogany-haired sea-woman was usually seen pretending to be one of the enemy's men and then cutting them down at the knees, only because she was so much smaller then the others and the Gold-Knights were just so much taller then her, falling victim to her blade's diamond edge. Vertigo sat on the pirate's shoulder, unfazed by the sneak attacks.

Quatre and Jasmine were standing side-by-side as they produced volley after deadly volley of spells and chants that brought hundreds upon thousands of men to their knees and soon to their graves.

But, try as she might, she could not find the male-dryad, who, she was so sure, had the greatest intent to be dead by nightfall. This scared the Princess more then she would have cared to admit; she loved him so much so that she would gladly take his place if given the chance. 'I love him…' she thought, startled by the realization, 'I have fallen in love with a Dryad! How could this be? Oh, Heero, if only you knew. If only I had known sooner, I could have told him, now it might be too late!' her mind cried. "Hurry Steadfast! We have to find Heero, and quickly!" she said, her voice rising over the cries of the wounded and the fallen.

"Yes Milady!" the Unicorn hummed in reply before speeding up for the second time that day.

She found him moments later in a what looked to be a one-on-one duel with a tall, lean, knight with white-blonde hair trailing down his back and peeking a good five inches out from underneath his glimmering silver helm, which hid the man's eyes from her view as it was held up high with a look of smug superiority as he looked down at the Dryad-man. Heero didn't appear to be winning, he was already sporting a long, bloody, gash that started from the bottom edge of his earlobe, across his cheek bone and ended almost touching his lips, which were parted as he panted softly, his chest rising and falling in time with the gusts of air that were brought in and out of his lungs, his eyes glaring out from under his dark mossy-brown bangs at the soldier before him. 

Relena dismounted off of Steadfast in an attempt to rush to his aid, but her feet refused to operate, whether this was out of fear for herself or for the Dryad, she didn't know. She could only stand and watch as the one that she loved, but had never admitted it to, fought with this warrior with-- 'What?' she thought, her eyes widening, 'With… is that the Cinq kingdom crest on his shield?' she squinted her eyes to get a better look, 'Yes, most definitely! But, why are they fighting then? I have to stop this! A Cinq guard shouldn't be attacking an ally!'

It was at this moment that the orb in her hand did a curious thing, as it always did at the strangest of moments, it began to glow a dark forest green and, in a bright flash that blinded her for a moment, everything was frozen in time, swords and shields alike held rock still in mid-swing and block, mouths that were screaming death cries no longer uttered a word; they were locked in wide gaping movements that looks as if they were about to say something once again but no voice came forth from the soldiers around her. Relena's friends and comrades were affected as well; the spell casters were caught in their summoning. The Ninja's and their dragon steeds caught in mid-swing and slash, Trowa's arrow was held in its fight from his bow, not by his hand, but by some unknown force, it was also the same as Felina's fingers poised over some note on her flute. Duo was caught in a rather dangerous position, as the hood of his cloak fell off and his eyes were wide, as he looked up at the man in gold armor that was now lifting the braided fool off of the ground. Fiora was frozen in a rather disturbing scene, as she had connected her sword's blade to the bloody flesh of a golden-knight and was just starting to force it through the man's body, the blood spattering all over herself and everything around her.

"What in the world is going on?" Relena's voice echoed slightly before dropping dead upon the battlefield. She gained no answer.

There was another flash and she was in a different world, a world of mists and smoke, a world where one could see all and nothing at the same time. The mists parted to her left and she looked down at a slight angle into at appeared to be a pond of white light, and, within the pool, there played a scene of two people in varying stages of youth, one with short Black-blue hair and the other with long White-blonde:

"Zechs! Wait up! Can't we talk about this?" said the black haired one.

"I can't believe that you didn't tell me. You're a WOMAN Noin! What were you thinking, coming to a war camp, posing as a soldier?" the White haired one, now known as Zechs, said.

"I wanted to fight, I wanted to protect my family! You, of all people, should understand that!"

"What's to understand? You are a woman, Noin, women don't go marching into battles, and risking their lives; that's mans work!"  


"Zechs Marquise, just who do you think you are? Acting so high and mighty, if I don't fight who knows what will happen to this kingdom? Cinq is a pacifist nation, we don't even have enough trained soldiers to make up a full army! And, with the whole Peacecraft family line lost, and or dead, there is no one to lead the people!"

"You poor fool." Zechs laughed.

"What?"

"They are not all dead, or lost, or even misplaced. The crown royal, prince Milliardo stands before you now and you are none the wiser for it!"

"What? Where?" Noin looked around franticly for said prince.

"I'm the prince, Noin. STOP THAT!" Zechs said, tapping his foot.

"…You…? A prince? HA!"

"Keep it down, would you? I don't want the whole world to know!" he said in a hushed tone as he clasped his hand over her mouth in an attempt to shut her up. Noin tried to mutter something from behind it that he couldn't quite catch. "What did you say?" he asked, removing his hand.

"I said: What are you doing here then, if you really are the crown prince, shouldn't you be protecting your family then? Or better yet, ruling your country!" Noin snapped.

"You got all that in just one breathe? Impressive." he grinned.

"Shut up, Zechs!"

The scene jumped to that of a darkened room, with a fireplace it's only source of light. Within it's eerie glow stood two men, one with hair of a sandy-ginger color, while the other was, once again, the man known as Zechs, also known as, Milliardo.

"…Do you really think this is a good idea Milliardo?" the sandy haired man's voice asked by the firelight, his shadow cast across the room.

"I don't see any reason why it wouldn't." came Milliardo's reply.

Relena squinted her eyes, as she looked deeper into the pool, there, just barely visible was Fiora, tiptoeing through the shadows just outside the room when she overheard what the two men were saying she stopped to listen in.

"You're taking quite a risk sending all of them, when only just today you discovered that you have enemies, dangerous ones at that. Even with all of your men fighting, you know wouldn't have won had those kids not been there," the man said calmly.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?" Milliardo shouted, followed by the squeaking/scraping noise of his chair being moved so he could stand up. Milliardo sighed, "You think I don't know that? That we would have surely lost if they weren't there today? I won't even dare to think of what would have happened to my beloved sister and my wife had I been killed. Treize, do you have any idea at all on who it could be that sent the attack?"

"Not a one. But Milliardo, what makes you so sure it's safe to send them all off, from what I've seen, the dryads can take care of themselves, without the aid of humans."

"There is something about those young warriors that I'm not seeing, something that no one can explain. What worries me most is that my little sister is falling in love with that dryad boy, and everyone knows that it would never work, not only is she a princess, and therefore will end up being bound to a pre-decided marriage, but it is rumored to be that a dryad cannot survive for long out in the human world once it has run out of magic." Milliardo mumbled softly, almost to himself.

"Getting a little over protective of her are you Zechs?"

"Don't call me that here, that is the name of a murderer"

"You know as well as I do that you can hide the truth from others, but you can't hide it from yourself Milliardo, the price you paid for revenge is costing you more then you would ever admit"

"Unlike you, I must rule a pacifist nation, Treize, how do you think the people would react if they knew?"

"Most likely there would be fear, possibly some of them might try to overthrow you. But Milliardo, you know just as well as I do that you hate being king, so why is it that you…"

Fiora slipped back into the shadows and moved on.

"…Do you think that she'll say anything?" Milliardo asked suddenly.

"That all will depend on what she heard, and what her true intentions are." Treize replied.

"Hum… I've granted her safety here, I don't think that she would be so foolish as to risk me taking that away."

"Is she really as Wufei said?"

"As far as I can tell, yes… which leads me to wonder, why is she up and about at this hour?"

"The same could be asked of yourself."

"I know that, perhaps it has more to with the 'what' then the 'why'."

"I don't get it, what would she be doing at this time of night? …Or should I say, morning" Treize said, motioning at the window, the sun was just starting to peak from behind the mountains in the east.

"Not would, could is more like it. What could she be doing?"

"It doesn't matter, we most likely will never find out until it's too late, she's probably going to take a different route back to wherever she came from and avoid us completely."

Milliardo nodded in agreement, half listening, half not as he watched the sunrise and a new day begin.

Relena blinked as the pond flashed and the image disappeared. "Why hadn't Fiora said anything to us about this?" she said to herself, still looking at the now blank pool. "Zechs… Milliardo, why do you have two names?" the world flashed around her and she was once again back in the battlefield and, just as she had last left it, it was still as still as a painting on the wall. She looked at the man that fought with Heero, the man's long white-blonde hair caught mid-sway in some stilled breeze. "Brother, have you betrayed us? Have you betrayed me?" she whispered as she slowly walked past the statue-like people around her as she made her way over to the Dryad and the King, her orb's green color slowly fading away.

______________________________________________________________________________ I really hoped to have had this finished in time for Christmas, obviously, that didn't exactly happen! Grrr… I guess you can consider this an early new years gift! And yes, I know, it's still beyond late! But, I promise you, it's almost done, I figure one or two chapters left until the end! Oh, and, if you want, I can make one more chapter after the end of it just so you all can see how everyone ended up, it's not what you would expect, believe me! Lol

Now, because I'm almost done with this fic, I want you all to, in your reviews, to list which fic idea that I have listed below to try next! Next to them I already have some votes listed on which ones some of my IM-ing fans want to see:

1. I know this has already been done, but I think the person that was originally writing it stopped, and besides that, I plan to put a few new twists to if then she did, I'm thinking about going a Gundam wing/Escaflowne fic; it would have five parts to the full series, the first part would be totally Escaflowne (mostly about how Hitomi gets back to Gaea and about her and Van's son, Aden Folken de Kenzaki-Fanel, long name, I know, and how he got separated from them). The second part would be Totally Gundam Wing (this part would be about how Heero discovers the hidden planet, a secret of Odin Lowe, Something that Dr.J left for him and eventually he gets taken to Gaea). The third would be about Heero wandering around on Gaea trying to figure some things out and ending up meeting Van and Hitomi and the things that happen because of it. The fourth part is about Relena and the other G-guys trying to find him and somehow stumbling on the answers, and the way to Gaea themselves. The last is the conclusion.

2. This one is completely original on my part and is an AU unlike any other, that I know of: Heero, a Bounty-hunter, gets lost in a forest while trying to track down the Infamous thief, Duo Maxwell, and finds himself having to camp inside of a cave with a peculiar stream water flowing within it, after testing it and finding it "safe" to drink, Heero has his fill of it, but, unknown to him, quenching his thirst comes at a high price. He wakes up the next morning in the body of a wolf and finds out that he can only be human if there is no sun OR moon out! And now he has either find a cure, learn how to survive as a being of the forests, or else.

3. This one is very common, but I'm willing to try my hand at it: Heero loves Duo, but he also loves Relena; and the feelings are mutual from both of them. What is a guy to do? This would be my first attempt at a yoai fic if I decide to do it.

4. Locked away in a mental institution isn't what she had envisioned what would have happened to Him, him being Heero Yuy, but now, after Relena as seen him locked in there with her own eyes, can she really say that he doesn't belong there?

5. Looking down at the Scrap-yard, she couldn't help but feel more then just a touch of jealousy towards the black-haired blue-eyed ex-oz soldier But also knowing that she wasn't what he needed in his life; she kept her heart out of it, and started working on putting both the Deathscythe pilot and the girl together; even if it killed her.

6. What if Triton Bloom was alive, and he wasn't Trowa? What would No-name do think if he met Cathy's real brother? Would he feel replaced and out-matched compared to the real thing? {two votes for this one already}

7. Relena's guards love to work over-time, they never complain, they think they get paid too much for what little they claim to do, they're selfless, gentle, sweet, kind, caring, lovable...Are. You. Nuts? Felina, Jasmine, JinChi, and Fiora are anything BUT that and now that the "great and all mighty non-perfect Heero Yuy" is around, they find themselves fighting to keep the jobs that they hate, all while trying to hook the lovebirds up! {one vote for this one}

8. "I never want to see your face again, Heero Yuy! Do you hear me? NEVER AGAIN!" Relena really should be more careful about what she wishes for, for now she's blind and Heero is still around. "She doesn't get it, She's drowning in her own--" "Heero, I'm blind not deaf! So please don't talk like I'm not in the room." {one vote for this one}

Please list the number of which one that you want in your review, thank you!


	19. And with her last breath she said these ...

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first, thank you.

Warnings: possible death-scenes ahead, blood and gore, and lots of final Character-growth before the ending!

I'd like to take this time to thank all of my wonderful readers, yeah, all… what… twelve of you? (I never thought that I would get so many fans…) *Laughs* I just thought that I would make sure that I answered some questions from the reviews before I got started on this next chapter:

To Sweetlilly, Oh wow, thank you! That really means a lot to me, you have no idea how much! You know, if none of my possible future fics interest you, you can always suggest something else. It's never too late to tell me what you want to see. Oh, and please, if there is anything, ANYTHING AT ALL, that you want to say that could help me improve, please, let me know!

To Mimi, Thank you for reviewing, yes, I think number seven will end up being rather comical too, plus, I don't think that there are many GW fics with a plot line like it. As for number eight, that one is really getting a lot of reviews, I think I just might have struck gold with that one. We'll have to wait and see.

To Kaze, Thank you for the review! It wont be long now and this fic will be finished, I'm so glad that you like it, everything that you reviewers say means so much to me, more then you will ever know. I'll be sure to add your vote to the tally on which fic to do next!

To Ladybug, you know, I think you the only one of my reviewers that wants the Escaflowne/Gundam Wing fic, so far that is. I have to warn you though, that fic will be LONG! Oh good grief, the notes that I have for that thing could run the length of a football field! As for the one were Relena ends up blind, I know, I know, it's been done a million different times and a million different ways, but I'm up to the challenge of putting my own little twists to it. Thank you for your input.

To Darth, *laughing* I take it that you don't like yoai? (That's a duh…) Okay, I'll admit that sometimes the thought of mentioning gays turns people green. But, I've read a few Yoai's (not many, mind you, but I have) and I think it would be a great learning experience on my behalf if I did try writing a gay fiction, but it's purely up to you readers to decide what I'm going to do next. I always do try to respect my fellow author's opinions on how I can improve upon my skills, so, if you (or anyone for that matter) as any tips for me to help make my writings better, please, share them with me!

To [DeannaYuy13][1], Are you SERIOUS? 3:00 AM? Holy cow! Wow, I'm touched, I really don't think that this fic is THAT good…. 3 am…. Wow… I was in shock when I read that, and I still am! Anyways, like I said with Ladybug, every Heero-and-Relena fan fiction writer has overused that idea at LEAST once, even if they might not have ever been actually published on FF.net. I still hope that I manage to tweak the plot enough so that it's not incredibly predictable, if you know what I mean.

To Alexander, Thank you! I'm really trying hard to keep everyone In Character, unfortunately, I don't know if I'm actually succeeding in that or not! I'm glad that you think my fic is awesome and interesting, though, I'll bet anything that you say that to ALL of the writers! *Laughing*

To Chinta, Watch your caps, my friend *laughs* Anyways, thanks for reviewing, I'm happy to know that you like What if:Myth enough to scream it out so everyone can "hear" you.

To Ley, Thank you for your reviews (note the plural…), I think I remember reading some of your stuff once or twice, but I can't be sure… I'll have to check…. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to improve upon myself! ^_^

To Wing Blade, *laughs* Yes, you guessed it all right, but it didn't quite happen the way you expected didn't it? Yes, Heero has the Phoenix, but he is STILL yet to "ride" it, per-say…. This next chapter should solve THAT problem though, just wait and see!

To Chibi-hearts, I'm glad that you're enjoying it! Please feel free to tell me exactly how you think I could improve it.

To Lady Arwen, There are those caps again *laughing* I love cliffhangers, don't you?

Goodness me! Thank you for all of the support! I bet you anything you all just took pity on me when you read my profile… I guess it's time I removed that thing about What if:Myth not being anyone's cup of tea, huh?

"…" Denotes Speech

'…' Denotes Thought

(Notes from me)

****

Chapter 19

It started out with just simple things, a gray feather on a seagull's wing twitching; the air was moving freely again, the pitter-patter of blood droplets falling to the ground, making ripples in the freestanding red pools below, sounds from far away carrying back to the princesses ears, quickly fallowed by the shouts, yells, and battle cries from the field on which she walked and, suddenly, with what almost looked like a lurch, time jumped, and everything was back to normal, 'Or as normal as this hellish pit could be…' Relena thought bitterly as she picked up speed herself and, with what could have been described as unearthly, she had crossed the distance of ten yards in what felt like, to her at least, mere moments, to the two fighters, and stopped just a few feet in front of them, and she watched.

"Who are you?" Heero's strained voice asked the silver-clad stranger, his cheek pulsating painfully where the swollen, and infected, flesh was cut.

"My name is Zechs Marquise, and you are the Dryad, Heero, am I correct?" the man replied, glaring down at his smaller, but equally powerful, opponent; Dryads were never known to be very tall, unlike their Elvin cousins, who could stand at least a head taller then most humans.

Heero spat on the ground; his had bit the inside of his other cheek when the man, Zechs, had slashed him and he had started to taste the foul, brass-like quality of his own blood. He wasn't very happy that the human was trying to make himself seem superior to him; funny how humans associate height with power, Heero wasn't even all that small really, compared to most of the dryad race, he was rather tall actually; almost standing at five-feet-and-seven-inches. It really was a pity that this human was almost six-foot-two. He didn't bother to waste his breath answering what the man, obviously, knew.

If either of the two fighters knew Relena was there, they didn't acknowledge her until she stepped between them, her arms out-stretched, as if attempting to protect them from each other. "Stop it! I can't let you do this!" she cried, her face set in grim determination.

"Relena, stay out of this." Heero ordered, his eyes piercing her.

"Princess Relena…" Zechs gasped as he took a step back. Though one couldn't see his face, they could tell that he was more then just mildly shocked by the change in the once docile princess. He hadn't expected her to be in this accursed place.

Relena turned her head and looked into the dryad-male's stormy eyes, saying, "Stop it, both of you! Heero, please, you can't fight him--"

"Why?" the dryad interjected.

"--Because, because he's my brother, Heero!" she stammered before getting control of her voice again and turning away to peer up at the white-blonde haired man. "Milliardo, why? Why did you do this? Does Lucrezia know? Did you betray us? Or do you honestly believe what Treize is doing is only right and just? Tell me Brother! Tell me…"

"Relena, I…"

*****

"Quatre! I don't know how much longer Rashid and his men can hold out! We can't destroy all of Treize's army! There're just too many, we can't do it." Jasmine said, starting to doubt herself as she unleashed a volley of crackling blue fire from the end of her staff into the ground, creating a wall of the hellish flames around them and igniting gold-clad men as they tried to charge through it. Their screams were deafening in her hears and clouding her mind like they storms clouded the sky with it's torrential rains.

"Maybe so, but we have to try!" Quatre shouted over his shoulder at her and, after giving her a comforting forced-smile, he mumbled a few choice words from the tome in his hands and large hailstones fell from the smoky, blood red, skies that rained above. "We have to try…" he whispered to himself once more as the echoing cries of the dying filled the magic-user's head yet again, and again, and for the millionth time that day they rumbled inside and out of him, trying to brake his spirit and dampen his gentle heart and the only solace he would receive was when he would utter apologies to the dead.

*****

Within the magical bubble created by those sweet flute notes, Felina and Trowa heard little, if anything at all, of the yells from their fallen victims, but, as Trowa sent arrow upon arrow into the masses that had begun to crowd them, working them into a corner where they wouldn't be able to escape, Felina would falter; her notes wouldn't flow as steadily as before; her breath was shaky and her hands trembled. Fear, irrational fear shook her; being trapped seized her, controlled her, her fears of the cages that could, and would, confine her if they failed scared her beyond all reasoning. And so, it was then, when she played the first wrong note that the enemy brought their vengeance down onto them. 

One knight snapped Trowa's bow when the clown-turned-ranger tried to block the swing of the spiked club that was aimed at his head. Felina did her best, dodging a sword, to get them both out, a small magical shield that she had formed in her hand was all that stood between them and the accursed soldiers that had formed a human-net around them. 

It wasn't until Trowa took the hunting knife from his boot, which was usually only used for skinning animal hides, and literally cutting their way out of the throng, but not before a blow landed to the back of his head via a metal club. Trowa barely managed to make his way to a small ravine, away from the battle, before he collapsed into unconsciousness. 

Poor Felina, shaken and alone, left to protect them and with the only hope within her that was left was in the human that was bleeding slightly on top of his head and passed-out in on the dead ground. She could only cry bitter tears; she didn't want it to end like this. 'One small army of humans and ten keepers of mystic can't face odds as these and expect to survive, can they?' she asked herself as she looked to the raining sky that seemed to be burning at the same time, looking for answers.

*****

He thought he was done for, he wouldn't deny it, but, if anyone was planning on saving him, he wasn't expecting her to do it. But, one has to say, the timing might, or might not, have been the best.

After he had literally been picked up by the scruff of the neck by the burly man dressed in gold, Duo had begun to mentally recite the prayers that Sister Helen had drilled into his head so long ago, as the man's sword's edge crept dangerously closer to the braided man's neck. It wasn't until he began to feel the sharp, searing, pain of the perfectly sharpened blade when two screams were heard. Oddly enough, neither of which was his. The first one, though sounding a tad parched, was female and extremely high and shrill-like, the second, appeared mere seconds after the first as the gold-clad man dropped his blade in shock and sank to his knees, letting Duo's feet finally touch the ground so that he could jerk away, holding his only free hand; as he still somehow managed to keep a hold on his scythe, to his throat, feeling the barely skin-deep gash on the left-hand-side of it.

"That's right, count them blessings, bet ya anything that you can fit 'em all on one hand!" the shrill voice laughed and then grunted when its owner heaved her blade out of the soldier's back, muttering something about "…Rules against this kinda thing…" and "…Is why I didn't want to do this job in the first place!"

"Fiora?" Duo asked, as he looked at her, noting the blood caked onto her clothes, arms, face and the slightly saddened look to her when he made eye contact with her.

"That's what they call me, whadda ya want?" came her tired reply, as she waged war with her next target, she seemed to be attacking with a strong vengeance.

"What, why did you--"

"Are ya gonna stand there all day talkin' or are ya gonna fight?" Fiora shouted, changing the subject, her words knocking him out of his self-induced daze enough to block another attack on himself from one of the dead soldier's buddies.

"That's the third time you've done that, you know." Duo commented, wryly as he cleaved a man in two.

"Done what?" Fiora asked as she gutted another knight.

"Saved my ass, remember? Savin' people isn't exactly what one would call normal pirate behavior." he explained as he laughed, somewhat, bitterly.

"What can I say? I happen to think that a cute ass is worth it!" she laughed, as he turned slightly red as all of his blood rushed up into his head.

"Wh-what?"  


"Oh get over yourself! You're cute, but you ain't that cute pal! Just count yourself lucky that I saw what happened and was able to get here in time. We keepers of mystic have ta stick together, ya know!" she replied, trying to justify her actions.

"Whatever you say!"

"Yeah, that's right! Whatever I say!" Fiora exclaimed with a smile that turned into a grimace as she cut into another unfortunate soul that happened to have charged into her blade. 'And to think that this guy's the reason I got dragged into this whole mess to begin with. Oh boy, I can just hear it now, I can just hear Racy and Dare chanting: Fiora's in love! What losers, I don't even think that I like this guy THAT much! Besides that, this ain't any fairy-tale this is real! And hero and heroin don't always have to fall in love for it to be a happy ending after all…' she thought as she growled; she was in the middle of chopping someone's head off and distractions, like thoughts of romance, were not welcome in the times of war.

*****

"Chwun! Steady, you almost knocked me off balance." Wong stated as she shifted her footing on top of the violet colored dragon.

"You would have been able to correct yourself in time." came the floating, wing-less, beast's reply.

"I don't know about that. I am still clumsy with my feet like this." Wong said with a smirk as she flung one of the silver stars down and slashing one of the gold-knights in his face, to be more precise, his right eye.

Chwun took that moment of opportunity to swoop down and scoop him up into her mouth and, after playfully tossing his broken body into the air, swallowing him in one monstrous gulp. She let out a puff of fire from her nostrils as she replied, calmly with, "…I do. Do not underestimate your own self-worth."

"You assume that I do in the first place when, in fact, that is hardly the case. Unfortunately, you know as well as I do, the Chinese society's values of women, such as I, are as much as the price of the slave that I have always been."

"Times will change, JinChi, and there will become a day when all people, old or young, rich or poor, man or woman, will be equal."

"But that is beyond my time--" Wong began to say.

"Maybe, maybe not. Your spirit is young, and it has still much living to do. Be it in this lifetime, or the many ones after it."

"You speak as if you already know, Chwun."

"You assume that I do not. Though our time is quickly passing, we are not fools to what the human race will accomplish in the times after it." Chwun said as she breathed bright orange flames down onto the people below.

"Perhaps there will come a time when I know these things to be true for myself. Chwun, will you be reborn one day also?"

"Maybe, maybe not. One cannot say, though I do not know if I would ever want to be human, your people face so much pain and strife, we dragons care not for such intolerances."

"But you say we will change."

"I did not say that it would be a quick change JinChi. Time will pass and, yes, your kind will change, but so will our world with it, and not always for the better."

The discussion ended there and the two souls, with paths intertwined but for a mere blink of an eye, by the universe's standards, fought their first and last great war. While one would continue to be reborn, the other would simply cease to be. It was a sad day for a war, as no day is ever a joyous one when battles are involved; blood and tears share the battlefield as one in these times, as would they always be.

*****

Wufei had been nothing short of a marvel when in combat, and so, when he saw his enemy's ring-leader, he walked over to him, the glaring fire in his eyes warning friend and foe alike not to cross his path as he marched over to him and said, "…After finding out what you had done, I wanted more then anything for the chance to fight you like this. Treize, all of which you have done will be brought to justice once and for all!" this was Wufei's battle cry as he charged at the corrupt king.

"A touching speech, I have to hand it to you, you have quite a way with works." Treize, dressed in royal blue, calmly mocked the Chinese man as they crossed swords.

"You BASTARD!" Wufei screamed, in a blind rage, as he lunged at him, slashing his sword high, in an attempt to slit the traitor's neck.

"Unbeknownst to you, I have fought a losing battle a few days ago, and I lost it to a man named Dermail." Treize stated as he stepped out of the way of the attack.

"Dermail…!" Wufei's eyes opened slightly at this as he recalled what he had seen and heard in the forest so long ago, uttered by the shadow-walking spirit-eaters:

"Blangzenti galntongmogo thwidknke, fornoutisnsn Dermail-snonjuokong, Fernvernto! Poplomontidn ghtimaeos bjotasjeifnmo." the spirit-eater had said.

'Why is that name so familiar?' Wufei asked him-self as he stared up at his opponent, carefully weighing his odds of actually getting the answers out of him; if what Treize had said was true, then he could quite possibly be under this Dermail's control and merely telling him what to say in order to keep the king-pawn alive.

"Because he was sent to destroy you, oh! That's right, you didn't know that!" Strangely enough, this didn't come from Treize, but a sunny-blonde haired, icy-blue eyed woman.

"What?" Wufei demanded, glaring at her out of the corner of his eye while he mentally cursed himself for letting his guard down.

"Didn't you hear me? I said…" her eyes flashed red and then, within Wufei's mind, he heard: 'He was sent to destroy you…!'

"A witch?" he said, shocked as he took a step back.

She laughed maliciously, "Of course not! I'm a sorceress!" she replied, her eyes flashing again as he was knocked into the wall of a cliff.

Silently, Wufei counted his lucky stars on how he wasn't ON the top of that cliff as he would have surely met his end right then if he had. He stifled a groan of pain as he stood back up, noting that his sword had been thrown and had landed in a bed of rubble just a few paces away from Treize. Wufei seethed with anger as the man began to speak.

"It all makes perfect sense now; my good cousin, Princess Dorothy was enslaved like I was by Dermail, and then she was the being Relena met out in the forest during her ride. I was the one who ordered the army to attack the Long family so long ago--"

"What…?" Wufei gasped, his eyes widening at this news from what he thought was only an enemy of one of his family's allies.

"--When I had but a moment of weakness and, in the process, killed a woman by the name of Meiran who was carrying your sword and was, therefore, mistaken for you. Then I attacked Cinq the first time and then, once it was left unprotected, I attacked again, this time crippling them. Dermail plays his pawns well, I would say." Treize explained, more to himself then to the scholar that had over heard his mutters.

"Meiran!" Wufei gasped out as the face of his dead wife flashed in his mind, almost leaving him completely frozen in place for Treize to run-through with his sword, if not for Meiran's spirit screaming in his head: "MOVE WUFEI!" causing the Chinaman to dodge just in the nick of time.

With nothing to defend himself, with exception of his skills in the martial arts, and two enemies taking their time to close in on him, unless he moved to retrieve his sword then they would either knock him back with a spell or take a swing at him, he had to wonder if this was his fate; to die by the hands that killed his wife.

*****

Things had gone from bad to worse on that battlefield for the Keepers of Mystic; whenever one would start to feel like things were going to go their way again, something would happen that would bring all that hope crashing down. It was at this moment when Quatre and Jasmine were just starting to think that victory was near when they felt within their souls that something was wrong to the south of them and, by turning their heads, they spied Wufei, cornered like a rat between to cats. The two royals shared a look and Jasmine nodded her consent as Quatre, drawing his sword and jumping onto Blastfamous' back, rode off to aid his faltering comrade.

Jasmine, after watching the young king depart, turned and headed for the ravine where she had last seen the two of her comrades climb into, but had never seen them return out of. She was right to be worried, upon arrival, she saw the Dryad-female and the acrobatic-ranger in the mud; caused by the rain that had begun to fall, and the blood, the large amounts of blood, that came from the back of Trowa's head. She ran over to them.

"Oh my god! Is he alright?" she asked urgently as she knelt beside the Dryad and inspected the wounded man.

"I-I-I I don't know! He was hit while we were trying to---" Felina paused to sniff and hiccup, "--and then they just attacked and--" she let out a loud sob as she rubbed her eyes free of the tears that were starting to grow vines up and around her feet, "--we had to get out of there! --So many of them---the clubs, the swords---We were going to be tra--trapped! Trowa--he--he got us out, but he was hit--I don't know what to do! I don't want him to die!" she wailed.

"Please, try to stay calm, everything will be alright. You have to keep yourself under control or we won't be able to do anything to help him, Lady Felina." Jasmine said as she tore off a long strip of cloth from the hem of her robes and used it to try and stop the blood-flow.

"O--okay, I'll try…" Felina said, putting on a smile and forcing her voice back into its usual chirp.

"That's better, now quick, hold this here while I try to heal him…"

*****

"Why, brother, why? What happened while I was gone that made you turn into your own country's enemy?" Relena begged.

"Relena, this is not what you think!" Zechs replied as he removed the silver mask that protected his face, and his identity. "I am trying to stop Treize, from the inside; he has no control over what he's doing!"

"What?"

"Treize's body is under the control of a powerful sorcerer by the name of Dermail, it takes him great effort just to be able to speak without his words being controlled!" Zechs explained.

"And that's why he attacked us then, because he had no way to stop what the sorcerer was trying to do!" Relena said, her eyes widening with shock.

"And his army cannot tell the difference between the real King Treize and the controlled Treize." Heero added as he returned his sword to his belt.

"Correct."

"So, how do we stop him?" Relena asked, relived that both her brother and the Dryad were no longer fighting each other.

"I don't know…" Zechs said as he returned his mask to his face just as a loud roar screeched across the plains and lightning flashed in the sky. "Oh no…! We might be too late…" was all Zechs could gasp as a giant bat-like creature descended from above the storm clouds and began swooping towards them…

*****

Whilst this was happening, not only did the enemy's army flee, but also, the keepers of mystic, looked up from their respective places on the soiled earth and see the hell-beast begin its dive for their fellow companions.

Trowa, who had just barely begun to become aware of his surroundings, shot up from his spot on the ground and rallied the two females that were hovering over him to his side as he said: "This is not the place we have to be right now. They need as much help as they can get over there."

"Right, I know just the thing." Jasmine said as she spun her staff over their heads before slamming one end of it into the ground and making them teleport away.

Quatre and Wufei, too, heard the demonic wail, but, unfortunately, they had other things to take care of first. "This isn't like you at all, Princess Dorothy! You aren't a bad person, so why are you doing this?" Quatre demanded as he dismounted from Blastfamous and raised his blade, ready for her to attack.

"Come now Quatre, you can't be that naïve!" she sneered.

"I'll make a bet with you; I bet that I can defeat you without using any magic, what do you say? Are we on?" Quatre changed the subject.

"I would be most delighted!" she said as she calmly drew her sword and crossed it with his. The match had begun.

Wufei did not waste a beat; he charged for his sword and, after scooping it up, made eye contact with the regal king. "Now that there are no more interruptions, shall we continue?" the Chinaman smirked.

"We shall."

From across the plains came a far different response to the monster that charged down from above.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?" Fiora said, dumbstruck, as she gazed up at being that seemingly appeared out of thin air.

"I donno but I don't like it!" Duo said as the fleeing, golden-armored knights ignored his attacks.

"Oh holy mother fuckin'…" Fiora stammered as she followed the demon's flight path, "SHIT! Duo! We gotta bail 'em out! Let's go!" she said as she grabbed the sleeve of his tunic and pulled him along behind her.

"What? What is it? What's goin' on?" Duo cried as he matched pace with the smaller figure as she ran over fallen men's bodies, not bothering to try an avoid stepping on them, as not stepping on them was considered due respect for the dead.

"That thing's aimed for the princess and Heero!"

From above, on Chwun's back, Wong got a clear view of what was going on all around her and so, when that "thing" shot down from the clouds not from her location, she was more then just a little bit shocked. 

"What is that, Chwun?" Wong asked, still in awe at its speed.

"The great animal…a being that can change its shape at will." Chwun gasped, smoke bellowing out of her mouth as it gapped open in surprise.

"What is it doing here?"

"It is here to kill your friends by the look of it."

"Not while I still live it won't! Chwun, take us down, we will snap it up in mid-air!" Wong seethed; she lost one friend long ago and she wasn't about to lose anymore anytime soon if she had her way about it. She would die first.

*****

Relena jumped back with surprise as three of her friends appeared in a flash of bight blue light. To say that she wasn't expecting them to just "show up" was an understatement.

"Are, are you all alright?" Jasmine asked, as she looked her fellow princess and the dryad over, wincing slightly at the gash on Heero's face when she saw it.

"We're fine…"

"NOT FOR LONG YA WONT! HIT THE DIRT!" Fiora screamed as she leapt at them, knocking both Heero and Relena down while Duo pushed down the others and covering his head with his hand in a purely instinctual move to protect it and the bat-like creature narrowly missed them by mere inches.

"Oh man! Don't you have the common sense to RUN when something's hell bent on EATING YOU?" Fiora yelled as she quickly pushed herself up off of them, as she landed right on their backs when they all fell down, and quickly dusted herself off as she looked at them and said, "shit, you guys look like fucking hell wormed over!"

"Uh, thanks Fiora, I think." Relena replied as she stood up, after absentmindedly checking to see that she skirts weren't raised in an immodest way. Heero just grunted, his it was his cut cheek that hit the ground first and now it throbbed more painfully then before, he shot the pirate woman a glare as he stood up.

"You ladies okay?" Duo asked as he extended his hands to both of the women, who fell to the ground on either side of Trowa, as they were the only things that were really holding him up, and helped them up.

"Pwa, we're fine."

"Yes, or at least, as fine as we can be, considering the situation at hand." Jasmine added with a grateful smile as she allowed herself to be helped up. Felina nodded in agreement before turning back to Trowa to help him up.

"Ugh! What the hell happened to the back of your head? You look like hell!" Fiora exclaimed.

"He got hit there by a steel club." Felina replied when she realized Trowa didn't seem to be in the mood to talk.

"Guy, I think it's about time we headed for cover--" Duo started to say.

"No." Heero cut in.

"No? Whadda mean 'no'? I don't know about you guys, but RETREATING sure sounds like a good idea to me!" Fiora yelled.

"We have to take a stand, if we run now that thing will just keep on killing. We have no other choice." Heero stated firmly, in his eyes blazed a fire that had never been there until now. 

Fiora took a step back as she stammered, "s-s-sure, wh-whatever ya say p-pa-pal!" she gulped and fell silent. 'Something's weird about him all-of-a-sudden and I'm not sure that I like the looks of It.' she thought.

"Look out! It's coming back for another dive!" Felina cried out, making everyone forget the peculiar look in the male dryad's eyes.

"Whoa! Check it out! Chwun's charging straight for it!" Fiora said pointing at the violet blur as it sped across the cloud-filled sky.

"Yeah, you're right! Look! I can see Wong from here!" Duo said as he squinted his eyes in an attempt to get a better look.

Indeed, it was Wong and Chwun flying head first at the beast, roaring the dragon battle cry as Wong readied the silver stars in her hands to throw when Chwun unleashed her attack. It happened so fast that they barely had time to realize what happened. 

Wong had jumped off of the dragon's back at the last moment when Chwun breathed fire onto the creature and, raising one hand after the other while she spun in mid-air, hurled all of them at the monster all her might. They had little to no affect on the monster. "What?" Wong gasped when she saw this.

Alas, this was not the only shock that Wong would had imposed on her; as Chwun swooped under the beast, and into it's flight path, she was snapped up like a snake is snapped up by a bird of prey, the dragon shrieked wildly as the monster's talons cut through scale and flesh, gouging painfully into her stomach.

"What?" "No!" "This cannot be!" "Poor Chwun!" "Oh no…" "Oh shit…" were just a few choice words that were said below as thunder clapped, signaling that Chwun had met her end. And, in her last breath, came these words: "JinChi, may its change be for good…."

________________________________________________________________________ Ack! I and I wanted this to be the last chapter too! But there was just too much stuff to put into it! *Sigh* Stay turned for Chapter 20.… grrr, I can't believe this! Also, please, if you haven't voted, DO SO SOON, because, as soon as this fic is finished, the fic idea with the most votes is the one that gets written next! If you want to see the updated list of this ideas, see the new "fic" called: "Dare me to write it!" In there are not only the few ideas that I had when I first started the voting thing going, but I have some NEW fic ideas that I want you all to look at! 

   [1]: /profile.php?userid=289243



	20. The End

**__**

What if: Myth

By Prinder

Rating: PG 13- R

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing or any of its characters. I also do not own Felina or Jasmine they were so gratefully lent to me by my dear role-playing friend Ashley.

Claimer: I DO own Fiora and JinChi, so please don't use them unless you ask me first, thank you.

Warnings: possible death-scenes ahead, blood and gore, and lots of final Character-growth before the ending!

I would like to thank everyone once again for all of the reviews; my goal for the end of this fic would be to have as many reviews (if not more) as I have chapters.

I would also like to say that this is your last chance to vote on any of my fic ideas, so, at the end of this chapter I have listed my fic ideas (which any of my fellow authors are welcome to use if they ask) some of which you have seen and some of my new ones.

Hopefully this will actually be the last chapter to this series and then I'll finally be able to take a breather. When I first started this fic it was more for my own enjoyment then for anything else (I had a really boring summer that year).

I thank you all for your time, your reviews, and your interest in this fic. I can promise you that the ending is well worth the long wait!

~Prinder

****

Chapter 20

"Chwun? CHWUN! …No…" Wong cried as her friend passed away. Vaguely she noted that the momentum of her jump was gone and gravity was starting to work against her, pulling her back down to the earth. She, numbed to the point of being dead as well, could barely hear the screaming from below for Hawkeye to catch her before she, too, met her end.

"There's not enough time! You're not gonna make it!" Fiora yelled as Duo was scooped up by his winged companion and whisked away, off to try and save the Chinese woman from meeting a rather unpleasant end.

"I still have to try!" Duo called back before murmuring words of urgency into what he supposed was Hawkeye's ear, making the eagle screech and push himself to move faster towards their target.

*****

Swords clashed and sparks flew from their contact, nether of the blondes were going to give in. Though outmatched in physical strength by the young king, princess Dorothy made up for in sheer magical prowess. And so, they were virtually in a stalemate. At least they were, until Chwun's wails broke Quatre's concentration, causing him to let his guard down long enough for Dorothy's long sword to impale him in the chest. Quatre's eyes widened at the shock of the pain as he sunk to his knees, grasping the wound with his free hand and using his sword as a brace to keep himself from falling over as the dizziness from the sudden loss of blood overtook him.

Dorothy's lips were stretched into a malicious grin as she let his body slide off of her blade like warm butter off of a not knife. "It looks like you lost your bet, KING LOSER!" she laughed, playing off of his dead father's name, Winner, Quatre's last name (way back when, there was no such thing as a Surname, most of the time children's "Last names" were actually their Father's first names. This wasn't changed until long after the time period that I'm going for).

"No… You're wrong Dorothy…" He wheezed.

"WHAT?" she glared down at him.

"You. Are. Wrong. I won after all. You're crying." Quatre coughed as he forced a smile from his bloody lips as a small droplet of salty water trickled down the side of Dorothy's face.

Instinctively, Dorothy lifted her free hand up to her face only to feel the moist trail that the tear left in its wake. She gasped at the realization.

"I…told… you… so…" Quatre said weakly as he collapsed on the ground, his sword falling next to him, forgotten.

"No…. NOOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed as she dropped to her knees beside him and wept bitter tears into her bloody hands. "Don't die, Quatre. I'm sorry! I'm so, so, sorry! I'm sorry…" she murmured over and over again as his body began to become cold as its life-force drain away.

*****

Jasmine looked up a took a shaky step away from the weakened bowman, towards the burning mountains and whispered, "Quatre, oh dear, sweet, kind Quatre. It can't be true, it just can't! You can't have died, not now!" 

"Jasmine? What, what is it?" Felina asked from her spot near Trowa's side, unable to move because of having to support his extra weight and because of Trowa's unwillingness to budge, unless absolutely necessary.

"Quatre, he…he's dead…" she replied, her voice failing her as her hands trembled, making her staff shake also.

"Oh my god! Jasmine…" Relena said as she hugged the raven-haired princess, who could only cry into the other's shoulder, leaving a wet spot on the lavender dress, absent mindedly she realized that the Honey-blonde woman's robes changed colors, mostly sticking to the pale pastels such as light blue, pink, and yellow.

If Fiora was listening to the others, she gave no indication; as she was still watching the large eagle zoom across the sky to the small, pin-top sized, dot that continued to fall relentlessly to the ground. "Come on, come on, come ON… Hurry up will ya…? Time ain't exactly on our side here Duo…" she chanted as her nails dug into the calloused palms of her hands.

Heero, unlike the others, watched the "great animal" as it continued to hover above them. His eyes slowly changing from their rich, stormy, Persian blue, into bright, fiery, glowing, Cobalt as he glared up into the beast's eyes, challenging it.

*****

When Wufei saw Quatre fall, his temper raged to a whole new level as he attacked with even greater vigor then ever before, quickly forcing Treize back into a corner. "It end's here Treize!" he yelled as he knocked the king's blade out of his hand and far out of his reach.

"So it does. You make a great sparring partner. I enjoyed fighting with you." Treize said calmly, looking Wufei, and death, in the eye, surprising Wufei with his lack of fear for his life.

"You think this is some kind of game! All you've done is use and manipulate people! And for what? Just to please your bloodlust! You toyed with innocent lives and killed men all for a pointless battle!"

"You're mistaken. There is a reason for everything…" Treize said as he kicked Wufei back and knocked the Chinaman's sword away from him again before drawing a dagger that was cleverly hidden within his boot.

Wufei quickly got back onto his feet as Treize charged at him. Wufei managed to catch and block Treize's downward thrust with his hand on the controlled king and they began to fight for control of the blade. "So why attack the Long home? What reason was there behind attempting to kill me before I ever knew of the Keepers of Mystic? WELL?" Wufei said as he barely managed to dodge slash that was aimed at his neck. He was becoming almost painfully aware of how much taller, and stronger, Treize really was compared to himself.

"What better way to ensure that the one with the greatest possibility to defeat me from ever getting the chance?"

"You coward! So you attack without warning, kill hundreds of innocent lives, all just to try to get rid of someone who was not even there at the time!" Wufei growled, "I bet you don't even know any of the people that you killed!"

"Oh, but I do. I know the exact number, one-million-two-thousand-four-hundred-and seventy-three."

"You sick BASTARD!" Wufei said as he twisted the dagger and plunged it into the larger man before he even realized he had done it.

Treize froze and looked down at where the dagger had impaled him before he said, "That was beautiful…" and fell to the earth, dead before he hit the bloody ground.

"It's over… finally. Meiran, may you rest in peace." he said as he let the dagger drop soundlessly to the ground beside the dead king.

"Thank you Wufei…." came her breathy answer as the breeze drifted past his ears.

"Wufei!" bellowed Shou as he circled not much more then ten feet above his human friend before he lowered his head so that they could speak eye-to-eye with each other.

"Full already?" Wufei jokingly asked.

"I have eaten, but that is not what is important now." the silver dragon replied.

"Oh, is it now?" Wufei said as he picked up Quatre's body and, after placing the young king onto Shou's back, he pulled himself onto his companion's back and rose up into the air.

"Yes…" Shou said as he looked down at Chwun's remains on the battlefield below. 

Wufei could only guess as to what had happened as he recalled the female dragon's screams when he spied what his comrade was looking at. "And Wong?" the Chinaman asked, his eyes transfixed to Chwun's corpse.

"…. Safe…" was all Shou said when he saw one of the eagles, he was too far away to tell which one, catch her on its back before turning around and returning from where it came.

*****

"He's got her!" Fiora cried suddenly, making everyone jump, everyone except Heero that is; as he was still too focused on the monster above him to take notice.

"PWA! Duo caught her, Trowa! Did you hear?" Felina cheered as she hugged the weakened human, who winced at the touch but didn't say anything or try to stop her.

"Oh thank goodness!" Jasmine said, "I do not think that I can handle losing another loved one so soon."

"Agreed." Relena said, nodding as she watched Hawkeye slowly lower himself to the ground next to them before letting Wong and Duo get off.

"Hey Wong! You sure had us worried for a minute there. Almost didn't think that Duo was gonna be able to pull it off!" Fiora said as Wong slowly let herself sink to the ground as she knees gave out on her.

"Aw, I knew me and old Hawkeye here could do it all along!" Duo boasted as he puffed out his chest proudly.

"It was my fault, if I had not told her to attack…" Wong said as she looked down at her hands shamefully.

"You couldn't have known that this would have happened, Miss Wong…" Jasmine said, forgetting her troubles for a moment to comfort the emotionally frail woman before her.

"You do not understand… I was unable to save Chwun… just like I was unable to save--"

"What are you sobbing about now, woman, huh?" Wufei cut in as he and Shou landed nearby.

"Chwun left this realm fighting for what she believes in." Shou said sagely.

"…You speak as if she is not dead, why is that?" Wong asked, looking up at them.

"She isn't dead… her body in this realm may not have survived, but she still lives on… In the Crystal Caves." Shou explained.

"I brought Quatre's body back to you." Wufei said, turning his attention to Jasmine.

"I-- I… Thank you Master Wufei…" she stammered.

"PWA! I knew that! We magical beings do not die, we just cease to be able to come into the world of the humans." Felina chirped, replying to Shou.

"That's all fine an dandy for you but what about we HUMANS that--"

"I will defeat you… Dermail." Heero said, effectively cutting Fiora off.

"What the… Hey, Heero, buddy, you okay?" Duo asked as he reached out to touch the Dryad on the shoulder then letting out a yelp of surprise when he was burned on contact.

"Duo! Are you alright?" Jasmine asked as she looked at the palm of his hand, it was already beginning to blister.

"No! What the hell was that?" Duo asked as he pulled his hand away from the healer and began to blow on it in a vain attempt to get it to stop hurting.

"Shit, Duo, what the fuck did you do?" Fiora asked as she took Felina's wineskin, it was full of water, and dumped its contents over the braided man's injured hand.

"Hey! That's mine!" Felina cried as she tried to take it back.

"Yeah, well, we need it right now so tough!" Fiora replied as Jasmine tore off another strip of cloth from her robes and wrapped it gently around Duo's hand.

"Don't worry about it, they will give it back when they are finished with it." Trowa said as he managed to gather his strength together enough to hold the female dryad back.

While everyone was busy tending to Duo, who was starting to understand what a wizard's lab-rat felt like, Relena let out a scream causing everyone to turn and look at what was going on.

"Princess Relena, what is the…" Wong began to say but stopped mid-sentence when she turned around to see and gasped.

Heero, incased in a flame in the shape of a bird was fighting the Great Animal, his arms outstretched as he willed the firebird to peck and snap at the beast, who was now fighting for it's life.

"Oh my mother fucking G--"

"Don't use the lord's name in vain, Fiora!"

"Ask me if I care! Oh unholy SHIT! What the hell is goin' on here?" Fiora yelled as she stared up in shock as the two fought.

"Heero! Please! Don't! You'll get killed!" Relena shouted up at them.

"Don't distract him or he just might." Trowa ordered, silencing her so much that she could only look up in horror as the one she every truly loved more then a friend, or a family member, fought with the beast, to what looked like, to the death.

"Why the hell are we standin' around here for? Ain't there anything we can do to help him?" Fiora asked as she stretched her arms out from her sides as she turned to the others in their team.

"Nothing," Wong said, "There is nothing that we can do to aid him. It seems that, out of all of us, his destiny is the greatest and most horrific of all."

"You mean there is nothing we can do? …He can't stop it all on his own!" Felina cried, worried about her cousin.

While everyone was talking below, Heero, who was now the Phoenix, continued to do battle with the monster.

"Do you really think you can beat me? Ignorant fool! I'll rip you apart, limb. By. Limb!" The beast, Dermail, snarled. The only answer from the firebird was its redoubled efforts to take him down.

Back and forth the sky they flew as the two being war continued to be waged. Heero's conciseness was slowly ebbing away, fading into darkness, as he let the Phoenix take control; he knew he could never stop Dermail if he held back the firebird's true strength and power and so, with a wailing screech, the bird locked the Dryad's body and spirit away within itself and plunged downward at his pray. As he drew nearer, the firebird began to become confused; the winged beast that he was doing battle with wasn't moving! It just hovered there, waiting. Outraged by the beast's ignorance, the Phoenix sped up, then, at that moment, when he was no more then a few feet away from his target, the monster, Dermail, shot off to the left, causing the him to not only miss his pray but to be unable to stop from crashing into the other Keepers of Mystic below!

Relena, who was watching the whole time, was barely able to push her brother, the silver knight that had hardly said anything; for he was still in shock over all of the events that had taken place in such a short time, out of the way of the firebirds flight path while yelling, "LOOK OUT!" before everything went bright, searing, flaming, red. Somewhere in the back of her mind, before everything faded away, she recalled the feel of her orb slipping from her fingertips and followed by the sound of it smashing into little glassy bits on the blood soaked rocks.

*****

"Hi there! So, you are alive… or rather, dead… after all." came a cheery, masculine, voice from the blank whiteness that surrounded her when she "opened" her eyes.

"Wh-what happened?" she asked as she stood up, or at least she thought she was standing up, she couldn't really tell which way WAS up in this place.

"Gee! Let me think, oh yeah, that's right! You scream: look out, and then we DIE!" replied a shrill, sharp voice that could have only been Fiora.

"Do not be rude; she had no way of stopping it. At least she was paying attention, which is more then we did." came Wong's correct, but somehow odd sounding, way of speaking.

"Bite me!"

"Stop fighting you two!" Jasmine scolded them.

"Where is everybody?" Relena asked as she walked around aimlessly.

"We don't really know, I mean, I can see myself, but I can't see the rest of you guys. It's almost like we're all invisible… or ghosts." Duo's gloomy, yet fun-loving, voice replied.

"I think you're right, my friend. That is the best way that I can explain it too."

"Quatre, is that you?" Jasmine asked.

"In the flesh…um…so to speak." 

"You gotta be kiddin' me! I can't believe this! This has ta be a dream, more like a nightmare, or something! Yeah, that's it! I'm really back on Daddy's ship, in his bed, suffering from delusions because of a fever or something!" Fiora laughed.

"Somehow I don't think so." came Trowa's calm, yet sarcastic, voice.

"So, now what do we do?" Relena asked the others.

"Now you hear what I have to say." came a new voice from within the void. It was feminine, and had an odd accent, much like Wufei and Wong's, and seemed to speak of ageless wisdom and strength.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Duo shouted.

"…What a foolish thing to say, you cannot even see each other and yet you want me to be seen by you? How pitiful." the voice replied.

"…Meiran…" Wufei's voice echoed.

"WHAT? Meiran, how?" Wong questioned.

"Oh, JinChi, that is a long story that I have not got the time to explain." the woman, Meiran, replied sadly as the void began to warp and change around them, fading in and out of varying shades of black, white, and gray until they were standing above their bodies, on the now colorless battlefield while the Phoenix continued to fight on with the monster above them.

"Is this what it's like to be… dead?" Jasmine asked as she looked down at herself, her body barely distinguishable from the others; the blackened staff in its hands the only indicator.

"Somewhat, though I would not recommend moving far from your bodies; it would make things more difficult later." Meiran said, as she appeared before them, dressed in red and gold from head to toe, her hair pulled into two small pigtails at the sides of her head. 

Wong let out as gasp and ran over to her friend and gave her a hug, letting tears roll freely down her face. 

"I missed you too JinChi." Meiran said jokingly as she hugged her servant-friend back.

"Oh… I'm sorry Mistress, I…I… I thought that I would never see you again. My emotions got the better of me, forgive me." Wong said, releasing her hold and bowing humbly before the long-dead woman.

"Yo, I hope you don't mind me asking, but, what the hell is going on here?" Duo asked as he waved his hand over his head, trying to remind the two Chinese women that he and the others were still there.

"Obviously, this Meiran plays a large part to Wufei and Wong's pasts." Trowa answered.

"…On behalf of all the others, I think it's my duty to say: DUH!" Fiora laughed.

"Hey, where's Felina?" Relena asked, looking around.

"The Dryad woman is speaking with her fairy elders, as she cannot join us here. You will see her again once we are finished." Meiran replied.

"I don't get what's goin' on here, but I'll play your game. Whadda want?" Fiora said as she sat down, more like hovered above, on her corpse.

"To give you all a second chance." came Meiran's blunt, straightforward, reply.

"What?" "Say WHAT?" "But how…?" "I thought that once you died there was no going back." were some of the responses she received in return.

"Normally one cannot go back, but, an exception has been made in your cases and I have been given the honor to return you." Meiran explained as she glanced down at what could have only been Felina's body as a bright light flashed around it, leaving said body looking as if it had not been harmed at all by the flames. "It is time." she said, "Who wants to be first?"

"Wait a minute! What's the catch?" Fiora asked as she folded her arms over her chest and gave Meiran an unusual look out of the corner of her honey-brown eyes.

"You are forever bound to the fate of Keepers and will only be reincarnated in times of great need." Meiran said with a sigh. She knew that this was going to good to be true.

"I guess it works for me, as long as we don't die after we're done doin' what we have to do." Duo said with a smile.

"Then it's settled then?" Trowa asked as he looked at the others, who all nodded in agreement.

"Now that that is settled, who first?" Meiran asked.

"WAIT! What about Quatre, he died before us, does that mean he has to stay behind?" Jasmine asked suddenly.

"Jasmine I--"

"No, he does not have to stay behind, he is going too. Now can we PLEASE hurry up? I do not have forever you know!" Meiran snapped cutting Quatre off and tapping her foot on the ground, irritated that this was taking so long.

"Sorry…I'll go first." Jasmine said as she stepped forward.

Meiran nodded her head and, with a wave of her hand, Jasmine began to glow, as did her body and, in a bright flash, her spirit was returned and her body was repaired. One after another they went back, until only Wufei remained.

"After so long I get to see you and be able to hold you again, Meiran, and here I am told that I cannot stay here with you." He said in his smooth, yet quick, Chinese.

"Wufei, you will see me again that is a promise." she replied as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and held him close as his ghostly form began to glow.

"Meiran… I--"

"…I know, Wufei, I know…" and with that she faded away and he awoke to find himself lying on the ground with the others. He looked to his left as he saw the flames that had once incased Heero died away and watched as the Dryad fell onto his knees, exhausted; apparently, while they were dead, he had slain the beast and was fighting to keep himself awake.

"Heero…" Relena mumbled as she forced herself to sit up on Wufei's left and looked at they dryad.

"What? But… how, I saw everything… I, I crashed, burned all of you alive… how is it that--" Heero stammered as she stood up and walked over to him.

"Shh! Heero, it's alright, we're all alright, we're okay, it's okay… shhh, don't think about it right now." she murmured as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders gently, trying to comfort him. "It's finally all over…"

The End

________________________________________________________________________ Yes! And there we have it everyone! Thank you all for reading! Now, as I promised, I have listed the fan fic ideas below, please take the time to read and vote for them, and REMEMBER! You can vote for as many different fics as you want!

Fan fic ideas:

1. I know this has already been done, but I think the person that was originally writing it stopped, and besides that, I plan to put a few new twists to if then she did, I'm thinking about going a Gundam wing/Escaflowne fic; it would have five parts to the full series, the first part would be totally Escaflowne (mostly about how Hitomi gets back to Gaea and about her and Van's son, Aden Folken de Kenzaki-Fanel, long name, I know, and how he got separated from them) "Aden! Aden, where are you?" "I'm over here mummy!". The second part would be Totally Gundam Wing (this part would be about how Heero discovers the hidden planet, a secret of Odin Lowe, Something that Dr.J left for him and eventually he gets taken to Gaea) "What's this? Cards…? That's what he left in his will for me?". The third would be about Heero wandering around on Gaea trying to figure some things out and ending up meeting Van and Hitomi and the things that happen because of it "Oh good! You're awake! I was starting to worry about you." "Relena?" "Nope! You're a good guesser though; my name is Celena". The fourth part is about Relena and the other G-guys trying to find him and somehow stumbling on the answers, and the way to Gaea themselves "How can you just stand there and not be worried about him? HOW? Heero could be lost laying in some cold damp street somewhere dying for all we know and you are all just standing there like it's no big deal!". The last is the conclusion "Oh my god! HEERO!" she ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a great bid hug, "I was afraid that I would never see you again! I missed you so much…". {Four votes here}

2. This one is completely original on my part and is an AU unlike any other, that I know of: Heero, a Bounty-hunter, gets lost in a forest while trying to track down the Infamous thief, Duo Maxwell, and finds himself having to camp inside of a cave with a peculiar stream water flowing within it, after testing it and finding it "safe" to drink, Heero has his fill of it, but, unknown to him, quenching his thirst comes at a high price. He wakes up the next morning in the body of a wolf and finds out that he can only be human if there is no sun OR moon out! And now he has either find a cure, learn how to survive as a being of the forests, or else. "Astor! Shepherd! …I hate it when they do this… You rotten dogs! Get back here!" "Well, well, look at what we have here boys… a pretty little lady lost and all alone. What do you say missy? Want old Joey and his friends to show you home?" the man snickered. "No! Let go of me! Somebody! Help, HELP!" {Two votes here}

3. This one is very common, but I'm willing to try my hand at it: Heero loves Duo, but he also loves Relena; and the feelings are mutual from both of them. What is a guy to do? This would be my first attempt at a yoai fic if I decide to do it. "The thing is, should I even try to have something more then just friendship with either of them? I don't want one of them to think that they lost me to the other…so, what do I do?"

4. Locked away in a mental institution isn't what she had envisioned what would have happened to Him, him being Heero Yuy, but now, after Relena as seen him locked in there with her own eyes, can she really say that he doesn't belong there? "Damn it, Relena, listen to me! I'm not-- let go of me-- I'm not crazy I tell you, I'm not!" {Four for this one}

5. Looking down at the Scrap-yard, she couldn't help but feel more then just a touch of jealousy towards the black-haired blue-eyed ex-oz soldier, Hilde, but also knowing that she wasn't what he needed in his life; she kept her heart out of it, and started working on putting both the Deathscythe pilot and the girl together; even if it killed her. This would be my first Duo-and-Hilde fic. "Ugh! How hard could it possibly be for this MORON to pull his head out of his ASS long enough to see that this chick digs him? I can't believe this!" {Two votes here}

6. What if Triton Bloom was alive, and he wasn't Trowa? What would No-name do, and think, if he met Cathy's real brother? Would he feel replaced and out-matched compared to the real thing? A Non-romance fic, this is just about family. "You want me to share a room with him?" "Yes, Trowa, I want you guys to share a room. Don't look at me like that! It won't be so bad!" two days later: "HELP! CATHY! Trowa's lost it! I think he's gonna kill me! HELP!" {Seven votes for this one already}

7. Relena's guards love to work over-time, they never complain, they think they get paid too much for what little they claim to do, they're selfless, gentle, sweet, kind, caring, lovable...Are. You. Nuts? Felina, Jasmine, JinChi, and Fiora are anything BUT that and now that the "great and all mighty non-perfect Heero Yuy" is around, they find themselves fighting to keep the jobs that they hate, all while trying to hook the lovebirds up! "Remind me again how it was that we got sweet-talked into this mess?" "If I do recall, it was you who suggested this outlandish idea, Fiora Eleri." "…Thanks for reminding me, why oh why did I want to do this?" "Because you're a hopeless romantic at heart?" "It's either that or she's crazy…" they all looked at each other for a moment before saying, "Crazy." {Nine votes for this one}

8. "I never want to see your face again, Heero Yuy! Do you hear me? NEVER AGAIN!" Relena really should be more careful about what she wishes for, for now she's blind and Heero is still around. "She doesn't get it, She's drowning in her own--" "Heero, I'm blind not deaf! So please don't talk like I'm not in the room." {Nine votes for this}

9. Milliardo hated action figures; they reminded him too much of his little sister's dolls, so, why he got the twelve-inch-tall Zero-One Gundam Pilot: Heero Yuy, "G.I. Joe-like" action-figure for his tenth birthday, he never knew. His sister, who had to stay at home because of the chickenpox, was enthralled when he offered to let her play with "it" whenever she wanted to. But, something is very strange happens when, suddenly, nine years latter, he comes to life! "Relena! We're home darling!" "Relena… are you feeling better?" "Not really, was your party fun?" "It was okay, here, you can play with this when you're lonely while I'm away at school, okay?" "Really? Your brand new toy? Thank you Milliardo!" {Three votes for this one}

10. What if: Western (the sequel to What if: Myth) what happens when a "city slicker" schemes to buy out a whole town that stands on the world's biggest oil-well in history? The Keeper's of Mystic return to the lands of the living again, of course! But, how are they going to be able to reunite when they can't even remember whom they were? And, most importantly, who is who in the times of sharpshooters, outlaws, and "red-skins"? "I don't know who you are and, quite frankly, I just don't care. But, if you think that you're gonna get away without buying a ticket to ride this here train, you got another thing comin'!" {two votes here}

11. It's been done a million times before, but never in a way like this: Gundam Wing Outtakes, these outtakes, unlike most others out there, are geared more toward the funny-serious style that I am known for. "BRIAN! Stop making goggle eyes!" in this 'series' I will be using the names of the American voice actors and be telling of their exploits all through the series as if they really were the Gundam Pilots and all of the other characters. "Piffff! Hahahaha! I'm sorry Cole, I couldn't help it!" My first attempt at pure humor. {Four Votes for this}

12. What if Relena never met Heero on that beach? What if she never found out that he was a Gundam Pilot? I'll be going back through the series and rewriting it to find out. What will the outcome be? Was meeting Heero Yuy a major part of her becoming the woman she is today? I hope to try and find out. "What kind of person is he?" {Two votes here}

13. The Shreens are beings from a distant plant outside of the earth's solar system who are a race of all women who survive by attacking other inhabited planets and stealing all of their men for the use of breeding and for slaves. And now, with Heero presumed dead, it's up to Relena to stop them before it's too late. "Don't you like my pet, Queen Relena? He has the most beautiful eyes, why don't you come closer my pet so that she can see you better hum…?" Shiva said as the large figure that sat by her chair moved into the light. Relena gasped, "Heero!". My first attempt at writing lemons but since FanFiction.net doesn't allow those anymore, I'll post the lemon parts to this fic (which aren't all THAT important to the plot) on my website (which is listed in my FF.net profile). {Three votes for this one}

14. "In other news today: Relena Darlian was shot today at the peace-talks on L4, she was dead on the scene. Relena left behind her brother and sister-in-law and their two-year-old son, Zachary. Relena, if you can hear us up there, we will miss you…. And now for--" Heero turned off the TV and looked over at the cat that lay curled up on the sofa next to him; it was nursing it's single, lonely, kitten. "They didn't mention you, Indigo." the black cat ignored him, but her yellow and orange-striped kitten stopped her suckling to look up at him and mew before going back to her mother's teat. 'Something is very strange about that kitten…' Heero thought. Too bad that he didn't know how right he really was… 'Well that explains a lot.' the kitten thought as she continued to nurse, 'I died that day and then… I was, I was reborn then as, as Indigo's kitten… Poor Heero, I wish I could tell him…' {Four votes here}

15. A request was made that I try to combine Story idea number Six and Seven together. I want to know if anyone else likes this idea. {One vote here}

Current standings: 

In first place so far: A tie between #8 and #7 with Nine votes each.

Second place: #6 with Seven votes.

Third place: A five-way tie with Four votes for #11, #4, #10, #14 and #1.

Fourth place: Another two-way tie, this time with #13 and #9.

Fifth place: A three-way tie! This one is with Two votes for #12, #5, and #2.

Sixth Place: #15 holds it off with just one vote so far.

Last place: With ZERO votes, #3 is lagging behind badly in this race, should I just take this one off the list because no one seems to want it?

Let me know! Please feel free to vote for as many fics as you like! The deadline is when I finish What if:Myth! 

It has also come to my attention that I broke one of FanFiction.net's rules, that one being the rule where the fic actually has to BE a fic, and for that I am sorry; I didn't realize this until AFTER I had posted this list alone. I only wanted to enrich my writing experience, and to make things just a little bit more fun, as well as bring some "new" ideas into the Gundam Wing fandom world. It is my greatest hope that the good people who run FF.net can forgive me for not paying as close attention to the rules as I should have and I assure them that I will be more mindful in the future.

As for the people who reviewed and voted, I thank you dearly. You don't know what a great help you've been. 

I love everyone!

~Prinder


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